House of Glass
by UrBoiPedro12
Summary: "I treated you like an insect. I'm...sorry, Uzumaki-san" she said quietly as the reality of her own arrogance set in. What if Hinata hadn't been sweet? What if she had been very much like Neji? A cold, prodigious, and astute Kunoichi with little regard for the untalented? Oh, how different things could have been. NaruHina. AU with more antagonizing villagers/altered 9-tails attack
1. Selection

**A/N: Hello everybody. I'm that guy who wrote/is writing Relocated. If you don't know what that is, you should check it out, you won't be disappointed (hopefully). **

**On to the fic you're currently about to read. First and foremost, Hinata is going to be more or less a female, slightly less elitist, Neji. She'll retain some of her personality traits, but she won't be shy and submissive as she is in canon. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.**

**Time for chapter 1**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto yawned as he walked into the classroom. He had overslept due an alarm clock malfunction, and lateness was the absolute last thing he needed. He had been given the title of genin through highly unusual and controversial means, and being late spit in the face of the man who had made the promotion a reality.

'How is it that I'm still exhausted even though I overslept?' Naruto wondered to himself as he sat down in one of the few open seats available in the room. After several minutes of waiting, Iruka, who was the academy instructor, cleared his throat and gave the group of children a hard stare in order to gain their attention and silence them.

"Now that everybody is here, we can get started with team assignments. Before we do that, you should all know what exactly is going to change about your lives now that you're ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village" he began. A murmur rippled through the new batch of genin as they pondered the meaning behind their now-former teacher's words.

"First of all, you will be expected to take complete and total responsibility for anything and everything you do from here on out. Despite your ages, you're effectively working-class citizens now. Meaning that you will bear the expectations of an adult. You will still be given more leeway than, say, a chunin, but punishments will not be withheld simply because you're children. Secondly, you will now be more or less in charge of your own income. Many of you have parents that can and will assist you with such things, but they still have no real control over what you do with the money you earn" he continued.

The class all made a sound of approval at the explanation of their newfound economic freedom. Iruka sighed inwardly as he watched them react.

"Lastly, at some point during your career as a ninja, and almost certainly more than once, you will be forced to murder. You _will_ have blood on your hands whether you want to or not. Depressing as it is, that's the long and short of it. Now, onto cell assignments" he concluded. The jovial mood that had permeated the classroom vanished at the final section of Iruka's speech and was replaced with a melancholy silence. One by one, Iruka listed of teams. After six uninteresting cells, Team Seven was announced.

"Team Seven will consist of Naruto Uzumaki…" Iruka said. The blonde glanced up from his desk and awaited the identities of his two teammates

"...Shikamaru Nara" the instructor continued. Naruto felt his spirits heighten slightly. He had never known the lazy Nara well, but he had never been outwardly unpleasant as many of the Uzumaki's classmates had been.

"...and Hinata Hyuga. Your Jonin instructor will be Kakashi Hatake" Iruka concluded. Naruto glanced up to the far left corner of the room where the Hyuga heiress was sitting. Her posture was perfect, her clothes were ironed and clean, her eyes were sharp and attentive, and while her appearance was certainly an acquired taste, she was undeniably attractive. A true symbol of the high standard set by her family, the illustrious Hyuga clan.

'I just _had_ to end up with the other rich kid, didn't I?' Naruto grumbled within his mind. Iruka went on to announce the remaining cells, with the notable ones being teams ten and eight, consister of Choji, Ino, and Kiba, and Sasuke, Shino, and Sakura respectively.

'At least I don't have to deal with Sasuke. I did miss out on Sakura-chan, though' the Uzumaki thought with mixed feelings. After the assignments were complete, the classroom began to empty, leaving nobody but Team Seven, who had been ordered to remain in the room by Iruka in order to await the arrival of Kakashi.

"So, what do you think of this whole ninja thing?" Naruto asked Shikamaru, who was staring out the window as he always did. The young Nara glanced at the blonde out of the corner of his eyes and sighed.

"It sounds like a hell of a lot of work. Kind of a drag if you ask me" he replied in standard fashion. The Uzumaki chuckled and looked to Hinata, who was reading a book.

"What about you?" he asked. The heiress closed her book and stared down at Naruto, a look of subtle disdain in her pale, assessing eyes.

"I consider ninjahood to be a great honor. An opportunity to uphold my clan's reputation, if you will. Although, the circumstances and environment in which I will be forced to accomplish that goal in aren't exactly..._ideal_" she said, never blinking as she stared at the blonde. Shikamaru made a noise of protest, easily deciphering the meaning of statement. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows and frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. Shikamaru opened his mouth to explain, but stopped when somebody walked into the classroom. Team Seven looked to the door of the room, where a man with silver hair and a covered eye stood.

"So, I guess you three are going to be my team. A Nara, Hyuga, and whoever the hell blondie is. Works for me. Come to the roof. We're going to run through some introductions" he said, vanishing in a puff of smoke once he had finished his final sentence. The genin all stood up from their seats and walked out of the classroom.

Naruto studied his teammates as he walked alongside them. Shikamaru slouched as he walked, and yawned almost periodically. He was the polar opposite of Hinata, who stood up straight and took measured, efficient steps. Her movements were clearly rehearsed and well groomed. Naruto had never spoken a word to Hinata, the brief exchange of words in the classroom having been their first 'conversation', but he knew one thing for sure despite their limited interactions.

He disliked her strongly.

* * *

Kakashi flipped through the pages of his orange-colored book as he awaited the arrival of his genin. It had been roughly three minutes, and they had not made it to the roof.

'I really need to show them how to use Shunshin sometime' he thought to himself. Then, as if his silent prayers were being answered, the group of genin arrived on the roof, all of them looking quite bored and tired. Kakashi shut his book and set it aside.

"Now that you're all here, let's get down to what I called you all up here for. Each of us is going to say our name, the things we like, the things we dislike, your goals, that kind of thing" he explained. The group gave a collective node. The jonin looked to Shikamaru.

"Start us off, Nara" he said. The lazy Genin sighed and rubbed his eyes as he gathered his thoughts.

"My name is Shikamaru Nara, and I like shogi, clouds, naps, and not much else. I dislike tests, exercise, and waking up early. My goal is to have an average wife, maybe a seven out of ten or so, two kids, a passable, but not overly impressive income, and I want to die at the age of 80" he explained tiredly. Kakashi scratched the back of his head and chuckled.

"Don't be too ambitious, kid. You might disappoint yourself" he said humoressly. He then pointed to Naruto.

"You next, blondie" he said. The Uzumaki nodded and sat up a bit straighter as he prepared his improvised speech.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I like ramen, weekends, and training. I dislike waiting for my food, stuck up pricks, and just bullies in general. My goal is to be Hokage. That way, you people will _have _to respect me, whether you want to or not" he explained. Kakashi nodded and smiled behind his mask as he reminisced about an old friend. He then motioned to Hinata, who was patiently awaiting her time to speak.

"Your turn, Hyuga" he said. The heiress stretched and eyed every person on the roof, seemingly to make sure they were all listening.

"My name is Hinata Hyuga, and I like things such as gardening, quiet nights, and Dango

on occasion. I dislike spicy food, simpletons, and inefficient taijutsu. My goal is to lead my clan as I see fit" she said, glancing at Naruto at the word 'simpleton'.

"What about you?" Naruto asked the jonin. Kakashi sighed and slapped Shikamaru on the back of the head to wake him from a nap he had decided to take.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake, I like some things, and dislike others. As for my goals, I guess I've never really thought about it. I'm more of 'now' kind of guy" he said. The Uzumaki frowned and pointed an accusing finger at the silver haired ninja.

"That's not fair! You didn't tell us anything about you other than your name" he said. Kakashi shrugged and stood up.

"Unlike you, I have no obligation to tell you anything. I'm the authority. You're all free for the rest of the day, by the way. Be at the training grounds at seven sharp tomorrow. The second phase of your genin exam will take place there. Don't eat tomorrow morning either. You'll just end up puking" he said before vanishing as he had in the classroom.

"I'm going home. See you guys tomorrow" Shikamaru said immediately after the jonin had disappeared. He then made his way down from the roof and down to the streets, beginning his trek home. Naruto glanced at Hinata, who was wearing a look of irritation.

"What's got you so bothered?" he asked. The heiress glanced at him and then looked in the direction Shikamaru had walked.

"Both our sensei and our teammate are lazy fools. Then there's you, an outcast and easily the worst student in our academy's history, only rivaled by Choji Akimichi. To say that I'm displeased with my cell would be an understatement" she said. The blonde prickled at her words.

"Cry me a river, princess. I get that you're from the most famous clan in the village, but that doesn't make you any better than we are" he said defiantly. Hinata scoffed and turned to leave the roof.

"Oh, I think you'll find that a chasm exists between you and I. Social classes exist for a reason, Uzumaki-san, and you and I are of different levels" she said. Naruto growled as she made her way down the stairs and into the building once more.

'You aren't better than me. I'll show you'

* * *

Kakashi knocked on the door of Hiruzen's office and waited. After several moments of silence, a call of confirmation could be heard from within the room, prompting the jonin to enter. Once inside, he closed the door and sighed, earning an eyebrow raise from the elderly Kage.

"You look exhausted. I know that you dislike genin for the most part, but they don't usually tire you out" the Hokage said somewhat humorously. Kakashi sighed and sat himself down on a chair in front of the old man's desk.

"What on earth was your thought process when putting the cells together? My team has no chemistry" he asked. Hiruzen thought back to the many nights he spent meticulously planning the arrangements of the genin teams.

"They do have chemistry, it will certainly take some time for it to become tangible, but it does exist" he replied. The silver-haired ninja snorted.

"Naruto is, for lack of a better word, a dunce, Shikamaru is about as driven as a middle-aged alcoholic, and Hinata is about as 'Hyuga' as you can get. That is _not_ a compatible group of personalities. I don't care what you say, Hokage-sama" he countered tiredly. The old man gave Kakashi a hard stare.

"This team isn't entirely dissimilar from Team Minato, if you think about it. Rin was, unlike Shikamaru, very driven, but you weren't all too different from Hinata in your younger days, and the similarities between Obito and Naruto are numerous and uncanny. The only real difference between your cell and this one is that you're taking on Minato's role" he said. The jonin opened his mouth to respond, but shut it when he found that he had nothing more to say. He then stood up from his chair and turned to exit the room.

"Either way, I doubt they'll pass the test. The biggest difference between my team and this one is that I'm a harsher teacher than Minato-sensei ever was"

* * *

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed chapter one of this little experiment. I had fun writing it. Next few chapters are going to be coming out in the next week or so.**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	2. Bells

**A/N: I have returned, my fellow nerds. I appreciate the reviews and favs this fic got on it's first day of publicity. Keep that up! The reviews really help me improve**

**Time for chapter 2**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Hinata suppressed a yawn as she waited patiently in the training field Kakashi had ordered them to attend. It was 6:58 AM, and neither of her teammates nor her sensei had arrived. Yet another reason that her placement was nonsensical. No sense of punctuality could be found within the psyches of her comrades.

"You're out early. Not all that surprising, I guess"

The Hyuga heiress glanced over her shoulder and spotted Naruto making his way into the training ground, a tired look on his face. Hinata glanced at her pocket watch.

'Seven O'clock sharp. Just as he was instructed. So you _are_ capable of following directions, Uzumaki-san' she thought to herself. The blonde walked over to the girl and sat down five feet from her.

"Why'd he have to make us come out here so early? Wouldn't eight o'clock have been better? That way we wouldn't be half-asleep for this test thing" he complained through a yawn. The Hyuga girl sighed inwardly.

'And of course, he complains. No work ethic whatsoever' she thought frustratedly. She then began counting in her head the number of seconds her remaining cohorts were late. Eventually, Shikamaru meandered his way into the field, looking even more exhausted than Naruto as he did so.

'One-hundred seventy-eight seconds. I expected something closer to three-hundred. Not bad, Nara-san' she thought to herself. After ten more minutes, she gave up on counting for Kakashi.

"Okay, this is just stupid. He tells us to show up at seven sharp, and he's not here yet. Seven o'clock was _ten minutes_ ago" Naruto grumbled. Hinata, for the first time since Team Seven's formation, agreed with the excitable genin.

"You would think that a jonin would be, at the very least, capable of being on time. I suppose that we set out expectations a bit too high" she said. Shikamaru then laid down on the grass and closed his eyes.

"Well, since it seems like we have some time to kill, I'm gonna take a nap. Wake me when he gets here" he said. Before anybody Naruto or Hinata could respond, the shadow user began to snore.

"Maybe I should do that too. Seems like a good idea" the blonde said as he too began to lay down on the grass. Hinata shook her head.

"I would prefer if you didn't, Uzumaki-san" she said. Naruto raised an eyebrow and glanced at the Hyuga girl.

"Why's that? I thought you were 'displeased' with us, or whatever. With both of us sleeping, you'd be free of us until Kakashi-sensei shows up" he said. Hinata frowned.

"Yes, I am quite displeased with this cell, and I would much prefer to be with another team, but the two of you more or less sleeping on the job lessens my view of you even further. Is that what you want, Uzumaki-san?" she asked. Naruto burst out laughing, earning a questioning from the heiress.

"It's hilarious that you think I give a damn about what you think of me or this team. You're stuck with us whether you like it or not. Hell, since we're, oh, you know, a _team_, maybe you should follow our example and take a nap. You _definitely _need your beauty sleep" he retorted. Hinata felt her face burn at the comment.

"How _dare _you" she growled. The blonde chuckled at her obvious indignation and closed his eyes to sleep.

"Don't get so worked up. They say it makes you age faster" he said with a close-eyed grin. The heiress opened her mouth to berate him further, but closed it again when she realized he was asleep.

'How on earth do they do that? They just close their eyes, and then they fall asleep. Narcoleptics, the lot of them' she thought to herself. She studied the faces of her teammates as they slept and frowned.

'Why do men sleep with their mouths open?' she wondered. Hinata, out of curiosity, activated her Byakugan to search for her behind-schedule sensei. Be it due to the limits of her extended vision, or the extent to which Kakashi was late, she could not locate him. Just as she was about to deactivate her dojutsu, she spotted something unusual.

'Why is Uzumaki-san's stomach glowing?' she wondered. She focused her gaze on the blonde's abdomen and frowned. While not visible to the average person's eye, one with a Byakugan would be remiss to not notice the bright mass of bound chakra centered in the boy's stomach.

'It looks to be a seal. In fact, it appears to be in the pattern of the Eight Trigrams. Why on earth does this cretin have such a complicated work of Fuinjutsu on his body?' she wondered to herself.

"Undressing him with your eyes, huh? Not what I expected to walk in on, but pretty funny either way"

Hinata whipped around and saw Iruka sitting on a nearby rock, a look of amusement on his scarred face. She looked back to Naruto and snorted.

"Not in a thousand years. And if I ever did, he should be honored. It's not everyday a lowlife like him is examined by a high-class citizen" she said haughtily. Iruka chuckled and took a sip from a water canteen he had brought along.

"You might want to control your ego, Hinata. He's not as 'lowly' as you seem to think he is. Neither is Shikamaru. I think you'll be surprised by how well they do during this test Kakashi has put together for you" he said. The Hyuga girl raised an eyebrow.

"What do you know about him?" she asked skeptically, gesturing to Naruto. Her former instructor smiled as he thought back to the night of Naruto's promotion ot genin.

"Much more than you do. I won't deny that his scores were abysmal. He was called deadlast for a reason, but he's not an idiot, not really" he replied. Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and sat down on the ground.

"I'll be the judge of that. I've heard that Nara-san is actually quite intelligent, so I have high hopes for him as a teammate, but the same can't be said for my feelings regarding Uzumaki-san" she said. Iruka sighed and stood up from the rock he was sitting on, turning to leave the training ground.

"Don't judge a book by it's cover, Hinata. I think you'll find that you've been given a good pair of teammates" he said before disappearing into a puff of smoke. The heiress shook her head and sighed. She glanced back at Naruto, whose mouth was still open as he slept.

'You somehow find ways to be irritating even while you're asleep, Uzumaki-san. Color me impressed' she thought to herself. She then reached forward and pressed the bottom of the blonde's chin upward, closing his mouth. The Heiress infused a bit of chakra into his jaw to ensure his mouth stayed closed. She smiled triumphantly when his jaw stayed locked.

'That takes care of that'

* * *

Kakashi rubbed his exposed eye as he entered the training grounds. He was nearly an hour late, but he had an excuse prepared, as he always did. Once he was fully within the field, his team became visible. All three were awake, with Naruto rubbing his jaw for whatever reason, and Shikamaru looking as exhausted as he always did. Hinata, as per usual, was waiting attentively.

"Yo. Sorry for the long wait. I ran into an old buddy of mine who needed help cleaning out his rain gutters" he lied. Based upon the looks on the faces of his genin, none of them believed his story.

"Now that we're all here, I'll explain your test. This will be the true genin exam, so you'd better pay attention" he said. All three children, Hinata included, gave him a look of confusion and disbelief.

"What? I thought we became genin when we performed the clone jutsu" Shikamaru said. Kakashi shook his head, feeling a limited degree of sympathy for the group.

"That test was simply an entrance exam. You gained the right to _attempt_ to become genin. You still have one more test" he explained. Hinata then motioned for him to continue. The jonin produced a pair of bells and presented them to the group.

"You're going to be trying to take these bells from me. Capturing a bell ensures your position on this team" he explained. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows.

"But there are only two bell. There are three of us" he pointed out. The silver haired ninja shrugged and attached the bells to his belt.

"I guess you'll just have to work extra hard if you want to be a ninja. There are 27 graduates this year, and, based on previous years, only nine of them will pass their true exam. The percentage of students who fail this test is 66%" he said. The group all gave a collective gasp at the revelation. After they calmed themselves down, Kakashi stepped back and took out his orange book.

"Alright, we should get started. We don't have all day. You have exactly four hours to take these bells from me" he said. The group nodded and awaited the signal to begin. After several tense moments, the jonin nodded and motioned for them to attack. Naruto, being quite impatient by nature, made a hand seal. Four doppelgangers of himself appeared.

"This shouldn't be that hard" he said obliviously. He and his clones then charged Kakashi, who had not glanced up from his book. As the multiple copies Naruto reached him, the silver haired ninja effortlessly dodged their attacks, destroying two of the four in a single motion that was too fast for the blonde to detect with his eyes.

"Shadow clones? That's impressive. Most chunin can't use that technique" Kakashi complimented as he casually maneuvered around Naruto and his clones.

"Why the hell are you reading a book during a fist fight?" the excitable genin demanded as he was matadored time and time again. Kakashi responded by destroying the remaining pair of clones with a single shuriken.

"Because I can do both. Multitasking is an important skill" he said as he turned a page. Naruto growled and swung a right handed punch at his teacher's head. Kakashi leaned back, causing the punch to miss by inches. He then countered with a hard, rising knee to the genin's jaw, buckling his legs and sending him reeling back. Surprisingly, Kakashi did pursue the stunned boy, instead opting to continue reading his book.

"It was unwise to attack him so recklessly, Uzumaki-san. Although, your ability to use the shadow clone jutsu will certainly be useful" Hinata said as Naruto climbed to his feet. She then stepped forward.

"I would like to try my hand at fighting him" she said, assuming her stance as she spoke. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Sounds detrimental to your health if you ask me" he said. The heiress smirked and charged forward at Kakashi. The jonin glanced up from his book and side stepped her charge. To his surprise, the Hyuga girl pivoted and adjusted her trajectory. She launched a palm strike at his chest, forcing him to evade.

'I can't afford to read with this one, it seems' Kakashi thought to himself. He closed his book and focused on Hinata. He stood his ground as she approached and pulled his head to the left, allowing a palm strike to whiz past his face. He intercepted her forward movement with a short punch to her nose that she ran face first into. Hinata froze in place upon absorbing the strike, allowing the silver haired ninja to follow up with a kick to her chest that launched her back toward her teammates. She crashed into Naruto, sending them both to the ground. He reached for his book, but found that he no longer had control of his body.

"I honestly can't believe that worked"

Kakashi glanced over his shoulder and sighed. Shikamaru had made his way behind him during his scuffle with Hinata and connected his shadow to the jonin's. The lazy genin slowly made his way to Kakashi, forcing the silver haired ninja to walk towards him as well. Once they were within arms length of one another, Shikamaru reached for the bells. Before he could touch them, however, his arm was seized by Kakashi.

"That was clever. I'm impressed, Shikamaru. The one thing you failed to consider, though, is that the shadow possession technique can be broken if the difference in strength between the victim and caster is large enough" the jonin said. He then spun the Nara around by his wrists and threw him at his teammates. Unlike Hinata, Shikamaru was caught by Naruto and set down without slamming into the hard field ground.

"You almost had him, Shikamaru. If she and I can keep him occupied, we can take those bells" Naruto said as the shadow user dusted himself off.

"I doubt the same tactic will work twice. This man is clearly adept and well-versed as a combatant. Either way, the fact still stands that there are only two bells, meaning that one of us will be sent back to the academy regardless" Hinata said. Shikamaru thought for a moment, studying Kakashi carefully.

"I don't think the point of this test is to actually capture the bells. It's a bit more complex than that. There are no three-man cells in this village. All of them are four-man. There's literally no way for us to take those bells from him. Hinata is pretty clearly the best fighter here, and she got her ass handed to her. He isn't even trying all that hard either" he said. The group all racked their brains.

"Teamwork. We have to work in tandem to show that we can function as a single unit on the battlefield" Hinata said. Naruto nodded in agreement.

"That sounds about right. I think we should still do what we can to try to get the bells, just to prove a point" he said. The team then discussed their plan of attack as Kakashi assessed them. The jonin smiled to himself as they assumed their stances and turned their attention to him.

'Looks like I've got a group of sharp ones. This might be a little more fun than I thought it would be'

* * *

Team Seven all dropped to their backs out of exhaustion. The four hour time limit had been reached, and they had never even come close to obtaining a bell, with the closest call being when Naruto had managed to touch one of them with his pinky.

"He's...really strong. How the hell were we supposed to get one of those bells from him?" Naruto asked through deep breaths. Hinata sat up and wiped a bead of sweat from her brow.

"Remember, the point was never to actually acquire one of the bells, but to simply push him. I think we may have accomplished at least that much" she said tiredly. Shikamaru rolled over onto his stomach and groaned.

"This was way too much work. I just want a nap" he grumbled. Naruto chuckled and struggled to his feet.

"Preaching to the choir, buddy. I could use a few hours of sleep myself" he said. A puff of smoke then erupted from the ground in front of them. From it emerged Kakashi.

"Well, you failed to capture even a single bell, which is disappointing, but your showing as a team was impressive nonetheless" he said with an approving nod. The children all felt a spark of hope.

"And as such, I think I'll take all three of you on as my genin team. Your tactics were a bit repetitive at times, but that can be fixed fairly easily. Congratulations, you three. You're now officially members of Team Seven" he said with a thumbs-up. The genin collectively heaved a sigh of relief.

"As a reward for being my first team to pass, you have the rest of the day to yourselves. Have fun, it'll be your last day off for awhile" he said before turning and walking away. Naruto stretched and glanced back at his teammates.

"Want to grab some lunch? I'll pay" he asked. Hinata shook her head and stood up, dusting herself off as she did so.

"I would rather not. I have something to attend to" she replied. She then walked past the blonde toward the village. The excitable genin looked to Shikamaru.

"What about you?" he asked. The shadow user shrugged and nodded his head. He stood up and motioned for Naruto to lead the way.

"Yeah, sure. I haven't eaten since yesterday" he said. The boys then took off jogging back toward Konoha.

For the first time in several years, Naruto ate lunch with a companion.

* * *

**A/N: The nice thing about the early chapters when it comes to writing is that I have an easy outline to follow, meaning I can upload pretty frequently.**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	3. Insensitive

**A/N: This fic just hit 50 followers! Thank you all for the support! I'll try to update this fic as much as possible.**

**Time for chapter 3**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto sighed as he cleaned out the rain gutters on the roof of the Hokage building. D-Rank missions had never sounded appealing, but this was nothing more than janitors work. Something an already retired, elderly shinobi should be doing, not a group of, in the cases of Shikamaru and Hinata, clan heirs and heiresses. Despite the mundane nature of the missions, they were still a requirement. In order to participate in anything resembling a C or even B ranked mission, a genin team had to complete ten D-Ranked missions at the bare minimum,

"What time is it?" Naruto asked. Hinata pulled out her pocket watch as scowled at what she saw.

"Nearly one o'clock in the afternoon. We've been here since seven o'clock. Almost four hours of grunt work. This is just pathetic" she grumbled. Shikamaru chuckled as he cleaned out his section of the gutter.

"At least we're doing this on a dry day. If this had been last week, this would have been an all-day assignment. Look on the bright side for once, you two. All we have to do is work at this and we'll be done in no time" he said. Both Naruto and Hinata snorted.

"This coming from the person who had an even lower homework completion rate than Uzumaki-san. And that's _really_ saying something" she retorted. The blonde scrunched up his nose.

"Did you _have _to insult me too?" he asked irritatedly. The Hyuga heiress shrugged and shoveled out another glob of muck from the gutter.

"I'm simply stating facts. Neither you nor Nara-san were good students in the least. The fact that the two of you became genin is baffling to me. Your passing of the initial exam in particular, Uzumaki-san, is an indictment on the academy" she said bluntly. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Why's that? I think I know your answer, but I'd still like to hear it" he asked curiously. Hinata gestured to Shikamaru, who had completely detached himself from conversation as he sensed the rising tension.

"Nara-san passing makes logical sense if you look at it from a political perspective. He is the heir to the Nara family, a major clan in the pharmaceutical industry as well as wildlife preservation. Had he not passed, there would have been uproar from his family. The academy is very conflict averse, so his promotion to genin was an inevitability. You, though, Uzumaki-san, have no such family lineage to speak of. In fact, you have no family to speak of at all, to my knowledge" she began. Shikamaru frowned and looked up from his gutter, suddenly quite invested in the conversation at hand.

"Furthermore, there is not a single citizen of this village, save for Iruka Umino, that views you in a positive light. Our walk to the Hokage building is proof of that fact. You're an outcast of the highest caliber" she said coldly. Shikamaru scowled and glared at Hinata.

"This is going to far, Hinata" he warned. Despite the shadow user's words, the Hyuga heiress continued her insensitive speech.

"If I had to guess, Iruka felt sympathy for you, wondering why the village as a whole seems to detest you, and gave you a promotion out of the goodness of his heart. If he had stopped to consider simple logic, he would realize that the vote of the majority outweighs that of the outlier. The result of that metaphorical vote is that you, Naruto Uzumaki, are not worth anybody's time, including mine" she concluded. Shikamaru's mouth hung open in shock at her words.

"That was completely uncalled for" he said. He took a step forward, but was stopped by Naruto, who put up a hand.

"It's fine, Shikamaru. She isn't exactly wrong. Let's just keep working. None of us want to be here anyway, so we should pick up the pace" he said quietly. The team worked in silence for the rest of the afternoon, finishing the job at three o'clock. They made their way down from the roof once the assignment was complete and entered the building to collect their pay.

The silence remained until they were intercepted by Kakashi, who had been waiting for them in the lobby of the building since the beginning of the gutter cleaning.

"That took a little longer than I thought it would, but you finished before dark, meaning we probably have time to get in some light sparring" he said. He gestured for the genin to follow him, an order that the children followed. The jonin lead them back to the same training ground at which they had taken the bell test.

"I'm going to evaluate your current levels of proficiency in taijutsu. You'll each be sparring both of your teammates once. Naruto, you'll be sparring Shikamaru first" he ordered. The boys nodded and assumed their stances.

"You may begin whenever you like" Kakashi said. Naruto, as expected, lead the dance, charging forward with a flurry of punches and kicks. Shikamaru sighed and moved away from the blonde, allowing himself to only be grazed by one or two odd strikes. The Nara eventually stood his ground and swung back with a right handed punch, which connected right between Naruto's eyes.

"They've definitely got the spirit, but there's a lot of work that needs to be done" Kakashi muttered. He glanced at Hinata, whose face was contorted in displeasure.

"They're completely amateurish. They fall over their own feet, there's no real weight behind their strikes, and they have no semblance of defense" she said. The silver haired jonin shrugged.

"Neither one of them has been given formal training in taijutsu beyond what the academy taught them, and most of what you learn in the academy isn't applicable in the real world" he said. The pair watched the sloppy match for several more minutes before Kakashi commented once more.

"You have to give it to Naruto, though. He's clearly less coordinated than Shikamaru, but he's completely tireless. He's taking it to him right now" he said as the blonde connected with three hard punches to the body and head of the Nara. Hinata nodded in agreement.

"His stamina is remarkable, and his durability is nonsensical. The number of clean punches he's absorbed without blinking is frankly amazing. Given training, he could be quite good at this" she said. Just as she finished her sentence, Naruto sent Shikamaru to the ground with a hard punch to the left side of his jaw. Kakashi immediately leapt between the boys.

"That's enough, you two. The winner is Naruto" he said. The blonde helped his teammate to his feet and smiled.

"You're annoying as hell to fight. You might have loosened one of my teeth" he said. Shikamaru chuckled and made his way over to Kakashi. HInata, meanwhile, had made her way to Naruto and was awaiting instructions from the jonin.

"You may both begin" the silver hair ninja called after a minute or two of silence. Naruto wasted no time in attacking his teammate. Unlike Shikamaru, Hinata did not take a step backward in response to his forward charge. Instead, she mirrored the action and moved forward. When they collided, Naruto missed badly with a right handed punch. Hinata countered the strike with a palm strike to the arm that he had attempted to strike her with. The blonde felt the limb go numb immediately. He immediately disengaged and cradled the arm gently.

"Okay, what the hell was that?" he demanded. The Hyuga heiress responded to his question by pushing forward and striking him three more times, this time to his ribcage. Naruto coughed painfully, a bit of blood pooling in his mouth. Instead of cowering to the discomfort, he clenched his jaw and swung back, missing badly and absorbing a hard counter to the side of his face.

"She's carving him up. This is a mismatch" Shikamaru said as Hinata pummeled the excitable genin. Kakashi nodded and winced as Naruto was buckled by a kick to the right side of his neck.

"Her clan specializes in Taijutsu, so there was never any chance of Naruto being competitive with her at this point" he said. Naruto was then knocked down three consecutive times, all with the same counter. Kakashi sighed and stepped in to halt the match.

"That's it. I've seen enough. The winner is Hinata" he said. The Hyuga girl offered no hand of assistance to her fallen teammate, instead opting to watch him struggle to his feet.

"Use the left side of your body, Uzumaki-san" she said once he was up to his feet. The blonde frowned and rubbed his jaw.

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously. Hinata gestured to left arm and left leg, both of which were numb and difficult to move.

"You only throw strikes with your right hand and right leg. That's why I was able to counter you in identical fashion so many consecutive times. Had you been varying your attack, you may have been able to hit me at some point" she explained. Naruto considered her advice for a moment.

"Good point. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Hinata" he said, earning an almost imperceptible nod of approval from the Hyuga girl. He hobbled over to Kakashi and Shikamaru, patting the shadow user on the back once he reached them.

"You're up, buddy. Have fun out there" he said with a grin. Shikamaru sighed heavily and gave him a thumbs up.

"I'm just shaking with anticipation" he said sarcastically. Once he reached Hinata, he assumed his Taijutsu stance and look to Kakashi.

"Let's get this over with, sensei" he said tiredly. The jonin nodded and signaled for them to begin. As the match began, Naruto looked to his teacher.

"How long do you think this one lasts?" he asked humorously. Kakashi thought for a moment, observing Hinata's predictable domination as he did so.

"Shikamaru is a sharper striker than you are, but isn't as tireless, and you definitely take a shot better, so I'll say two and a half minutes" he said. The pair observed the match to its conclusion, in which Hinata doubled the shadow user over with a kick to the ribs.

"Three minutes. You weren't far off, Kakashi-sensei" Naruto said as the silver haired ninja made his way towards Hinata and Shikamaru to halt the match. Once the genin were separated, Kakashi gathered the children together.

"You all show promise in a variety of ways, but you all need work. That includes you, Hinata. None of you are particularly good at minding your P's and Q's while your attacking, and you're all somewhat one-note with your strike selection. That can all be fixed in due time, so no worries" he said with a nod. He glanced at the dark sky and then back to his team.

"It's dark out now, so I suppose that's all we have time for. Meet me at the Hokage building at eight o'clock tomorrow morning" he said before disappearing into a puff of smoke. Naruto sighed.

"Does he always have to just disappear at the end of the day?" he muttered. His teammates both shared the sentiment, as they were both glaring at the place Kakashi had once stood. The blonde then began to walk back towards Konoha.

"I'm going home. See you guys tomorrow" he said with a wave. Shikamaru then followed suit, leaving Hinata alone in the field. She fixed her gaze on Naruto as he walked away.

'I suppose I have the time' she thought to herself. She dusted herself off and took a sip of water from her canteen.

She then began to silently follow the blonde.

* * *

Hinata rubbed her eyes as she trailed Naruto through Konoha. His trek home was apparently a long one, because it had been nearly fifteen minutes since he and his undetected companion had left the training grounds, and they had not reached his home yet. The Hyuga girl's reasoning for following him stemmed entirely from curiosity. As she had pointed out during her speech to the blonde on the Hokage building roof, Naruto had no family to speak of, and no other legal guardian, meaning that he almost certainly lived alone. His living situation was likely not particularly good, but the prospect of a child living all by his lonesome still fascinated Hinata. After several more minutes of walking, they reached an apartment building and climbed a flight of stairs.

The Hyuga heiress hid herself behind a corner as Naruto arrived at what she assumed to be his home. He turned the door knob and opened the door. Instead of making his way inside, he glanced over his shoulder and sighed.

"You can come out now" he called. Hinata felt her stomach drop. From the tone of his voice, he had been aware of her presence the entire time. The Hyuga girl slowly rounded the corner and presented herself to the blonde.

"You detected me. Good work, Uzumaki-san. You've surpassed my expectations" she said. Naruto studied her for a moment.

"Why are you here? Don't you have a curfew?" he asked. Hinata nodded and glanced at her pocket watch.

"I do have a curfew, but my attendance record for family dinners in perfect. One absence won't incur the wrath of my father" she said. The excitable genin nodded and leaned against the wall.

"You still haven't told me why you're here. I know you're not some crazed fan of mine, quite the opposite actually, so what do you want?" he asked tiredly. Hinata took several seconds to put together a feasible explanation.

"I was curious as to your living situation. Given that you're an orphan, I would assume that you live alone?" she asked. Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, I do. Why do you care about my living situation anyway? Are you looking for something else to mock?" he asked bluntly. Hinata flinched at his hard tone.

"I...don't know. I wanted to understand your home life a bit better, I suppose" she said carefully. The blonde snorted.

"Oh, sorry for jumping to conclusions. Want to come inside? Have some tea maybe?" he asked sarcastically. The Hyuga heiress shifted uncomfortably.

"No thank you. May I ask why you don't appear to have any neighbors?" she asked. Naruto shrugged tapped on the wall.

"They all left this floor when I moved in a few years back. I didn't do anything, but they just decided to book it. Kind of like you said earlier, actually. People don't see my as a worthwhile person, so they avoid me" he said matter-of-factly. Hinata opened her mouth to ask another question, but shut it again when Naruto raised a hand.

"Don't ask me anything else, Hinata. My patience is wearing out. If it satisfies your curiosity, my home life isn't all that interesting, because I don't _have one_" he said.

"Thank you. That's all I wanted to know. Good night, Uzumaki-san" she said, turning to leave as she spoke. Naruto responded by entering his apartment and closing the door. Hinata quickly made her way out of the apartment complex and began jogging home.

'He is quite unpleasant when he's tired'

* * *

**A/N: I really enjoy writing cold Hinata. Not sure why, but I find her to be much more interesting to make scenes for.**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	4. Civility

**A/N: This fic is currently at over 100 followers, which is pretty insane for a fic that's been out for less than a week. Thank you all :)**

**Time for chapter 4**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto rubbed his eyes as he waited at the entrance of the Hokage building. He was early, earlier than even Hinata. This was an entirely intentional aberration from his usual tendency of showing up on or before a deadline. It was a subtle form of payback.

'Go ahead. Invade in on my terrible personal life anytime you want, Hinata. I'll find ways to piss you off for it' he thought to himself. He yawned and took a sip of water from a bottle he had bought on his way to the building. It had been vastly overpriced, as was the norm for Naruto when dealing with businesses of all shapes and sizes. After several more minutes of monotonous silence, Hinata arrived, as polished and groomed as she always was.

" 'Morning, Hinata. Have a nice night?" the blonde asked politely. The Hyuga girl stopped several feet from him, her eyes narrowed and her posture stagnant. She was clearly not a fan of having been beaten to the Hokage building, especially by Naruto. After a moment of silence, she nodded and walked to the bench, sitting down once she reached it.

"Yes, I did. My father was quite understanding of my predicament, so I received no punishment for my tardiness" she replied. The excitable genin raised an eyebrow and glanced at his teammate skeptically.

"What do you mean 'predicament'? You followed me home and refused to leave until I told you all about my shitty living situation. That sounds more like a predicament for _me_ than you" he said. Hinata scowled at his words.

"Refrain from using such profanity when speaking to me, Uzumaki-san. It makes you even less desirable to talk to than you already are. As for what my predicament was, it was that I knew virtually nothing about who you were. I already knew what I needed to know about Nara-san, but your situation was a mystery to me. I like to be well studied when conversing with people" she explained. Naruto snorted.

"You still don't know a thing about me, Hinata. Just because you've pieced together that I'm an orphan who lives alone doesn't mean that you know how I think and how I function. All you really did was piss me off" he retorted. The pair lapsed into silence at his words. After several minutes of silence, Hinata spoke.

"Did you ever have parents? A family?" she asked. The blonde sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"No. I've been alone from day one. I haven't seen any pictures, read any family scripts, or found any history on them. I wonder sometimes if I even had parents. Who knows? Maybe I'm the world's first artificially created human" he joked. Despite the jovial nature of his words, his voice held an easily detectable undertone of pain. The Hyuga girl felt her stomach wrench at his words. She studied him as he stared off into the early morning sun.

"I doubt that you're artificial, Uzumaki-san. You're far too uniquely frustrating to have been created by another person. You had a family, you were just unfortunate enough to have lost them before you could form memories of them" she said. Naruto chuckled and turned his gaze to the Hyuga Heiress.

"That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me, even if it was kind of an insult. Thank you, Hinata" he said with a tired smile. Hinata immediately began to feel defensive.

"It was not meant to be comforting. I was simply stating the extremely low likelihood that you were made in a lab of some kind" she said quickly. The blonde laughed a bit at her reaction, earning a questioning glare from the Hyuga girl.

"You aren't great with people, are you?" he asked. Hinata opened her mouth to retort, but sighed and shut it again.

"No, I am not. I spend what little free time I have reading rather than socializing. I especially avoid people like you, Uzumaki-san. People who have little to no regard for the standards put in place by the society they live in" she said. Naruto burst out laughing again, frustrating his teammate further.

"Man, you're no fun. Living by such a strict set of rules is boring. Loosen up a little. I think you'd be a whole lot happier if you did" he suggested. The Hyuga heiress prickled and glared at the blonde.

"No, I will not 'loosen up'. Why on earth would I want to forget my manners and sink to your level? I would never even consider it" she snapped. Naruto put up his hands and grinned.

"I guess I was right. You really _do_ need your beauty sleep. You get cranky when you don't get it" he joked, well aware that he was walking a fine line. Hinata's hand shot forward, seizing the bottom of his jaw and pulling his face until it was only an inch from hers.

"You seem to garner quite a bit of pleasure from insulting my appearance, Uzumaki-san. You have absolutely no room to talk. You're a mongrel compared to me. In layman's terms, I'm out of your league. You should be honored that I'm even touching your face. In fact, you should savor the sensation, because it's the one and only time you'll ever feel it" she hissed before shoving him backwards by his face. The excitable genin stumbled back several steps, laughing as he did so. He rubbed his jaw upon regaining his balance.

"Soft hands. You've got a grip like a crocodile, though" he said. Hinata growled, but calmed herself down once more and sighed heavily.

"Why are you being so aggressively mocking today?" she asked. Naruto's jovial demeanor vanished instantly and was replaced with a hard glare.

"I feel like I don't have much of a choice. When I'm rude, you snap at me and insult my lifestyle. When I try to be polite, you get defensive and insult me some more. If everything I do is going to piss you off, I might as well try to have some fun with you while I'm at it" he said. The Hyuga girl frowned.

"What do you gain from speaking to me at all? It seems like things would be easier for the both of us if we swore to silence" she asked. The blonde pointed to his forehead protector and shrugged.

"Whether you like it or not, we're teammates now. I would rather have something resembling a functional relationship with you than be at your throat. We're going to be fighting, and maybe even dying, together. Dying next to somebody I hate isn't a goal of mine. If you'll let me, I'm willing to at least _try_ to be nice to you" he said. Hinata pursed her lips and exhaled through her nose.

"I suppose that's reasonable. I still don't like you, Uzumaki-san, but I'll try to be more civil if you do the same" she said. Naruto nodded and pulled out granola bar.

"Well, at least we can agree on _some _things." he said. He then produced a second granola bar and tossed it at the Hyuga heiress, forcing her to catch it reflexively. She glanced at it skeptically.

"What's this?" she asked. Naruto tore open the wrapper of his bar and took a bite of it, chewing it for several moments before swallowing and speaking.

"Symbolism" he said simply. Hinata studied the small parcel of food and sighed, unwrapping it and taking a bite. She scowled as she chewed it.

'Raisin. Of course. It's the thought that counts, I suppose'

* * *

Kakashi chuckled as he lead his team into Hiruzen's office. Naruto's lower jaw was imprinted with what looked like the outline of a hand, and he was clearly not aware of it. He and Hinata had arrived nearly an hour early, meaning that they had spent much of that time together. In all likelihood, the hand that had imprinted on Naruto's face was hers.

'Either she tried to rip his face off, or she's _really _warming up to him. I'm guessing it's the first one' the jonin thought to himself as he watched the pair walk alongside Shikamaru. The team entered the Hokage's office and closed the door, awaiting instruction from the elderly man.

"I would assume you're here for an assignment? In which case, I have another clean-up assignment for you. It should be fairly simple" Hiruzen, who was smoking his pipe, as per usual, said. Naruto groaned.

"Can't we get something a little better than that? We've been cleaning out gutters and toilets all week" he complained. To his surprise, Hinata nodded in agreement,

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, I feel that our unit has proven itself to be quite capable of completing mundane grunt work. I believe a true test of our functionality is in order" she chimed in. Hiruzen raised an eyebrow and looked to Kakashi.

"They aren't entirely wrong, Kakashi. Would you like to take them out on a C-Ranked mission?" he asked. The silver haired ninja thought for a moment.

"We still haven't asked Shikamaru his opinion yet" he said, casting a glance towards his lazy student. The shadow user shrugged and gestured to his teammates.

"I could really care less. They've got me outvoted even if I didn't want to. Go right ahead" he said. The jonin nodded and looked back to the Hokage.

"Give us a C-Ranked mission. I think they can handle it at this point" he said. Hiruzen nodded and tossed a scroll to Kakashi. He unfurled it and chuckled.

"A bridge builder, huh? Sounds simple enough. When and where do we meet this man?" he asked curiously. The elderly Kage pointed to the clock and grinned.

"This will also be a test of your ability to effectively pack, because you will be leaving in one hour. He will be waiting for you at the front gates of the village. His name is Tazuna" he said. The genin all turned white.

"How long will we be gone?" Naruto asked. Hiruzen thought for a moment before holding up a finger.

"One week at the minimum. Pack for longer, just in case" he replied. The blonde nodded and bolted out of the office. Hinata sighed heavily.

"No manners, that boy" she grumbled to herself before bowing to the Hokage respectfully and taking a step back.

"I will be leaving to pack, Hokage-sama. Good day" she said smoothly, turning to exit the office upon finishing her sentence. Shikamaru soon followed suit and left the room, leaving only Kakashi and Hiruzen.

"Are you beginning to understand my reasoning for putting this team together, Kakashi?" the Hokage asked. The silver haired ninja glanced out of the window of the office and watched his students walk down the streets of the village.

"Naruto and Shikamaru get along fine, but Hinata detests Naruto with a passion. They routinely get into it over small things, and she's said some..._cruel_ things to him. I don't like the way their personalities mesh" he said honestly. The old man took a drag from his pipe and smiled.

"Those scuffles are precisely why I assigned them to be in a cell together. Hinata is supremely talented, but she has something of a superiority complex, and she's a social infant in many regards. Naruto has a way of beating humility into people just by being unshakable. Naruto can also learn a thing or two about punctuality and etiquette from Hinata" he explained. Kakashi nodded and turned to leave.

"Did you know that Hinata followed Naruto home last night?" the old man called out. The jonin raised an eyebrow and turned back around.

"No, I didn't. This sounds like quite the story. Would you mind telling it?" he asked. Hiruzen chuckled and pulled out his crystal ball from underneath his desk.

"First and foremost, I tend to keep an eye on Naruto if he's out and about at night, for obvious reasons. Last night, he was trailed from the training ground by Hinata all the way until he reached his apartment. He was aware of her presence nearly the entire time, but chose to wait until reaching his doorstep to acknowledge her presence" he began. The silver haired ninja nodded and motioned for him to continue.

"Hinata had followed him in order to gain a clearer idea about his living situation. Naruto became angry when she told him this, perceiving it as an attack on his status as an orphan. Primarily because Hinata had made a scathing remark regarding his position as the village pariah earlier that day. They conversed for several minutes about his lack of a homelife, going their separate ways after several minutes" he said. Kakashi nodded once more.

"That was quite insensitive of her. She seems to only see things objectively" he said. The Hokage chuckled and relit his pipe.

"Quite so. They had a much less negative conversation outside of the Hokage building this morning, but even then, Hinata took a joke much to seriously and marked up Naruto's face. Their relationship isn't good as of yet, but I'm feeling optimistic as to its direction" he said. The jonin snorted.

"Why's that? At this rate, she'll cripple Naruto before the mission even begins" he said. Hiruzen smiled in reminiscing fashion.

"They remind me strongly of Minato and Kushina" he said. Kakashi laughed out loud at the statement.

"Oh please, they're nothing like them. Naruto is a little like sensei was in his youth, but Hinata and Kushina are nothing alike" he said. The Hokage shook his head.

"It's a stretch, I'll give you that. Hinata is much calmer than Kushina was on a moment by moment basis, but she has a comparable temper, and she also has a similar tendency to resort to forms of physical violence when angered. Although, Hinata's methods are much more picturesque" he said. The silver haired ninja thought for a moment before shrugging and turning to leave once more.

"I guess I can see it, but don't get your hopes up. I personally think they're more likely to kill each other than start a family" he said. He then exited the office and closed the door behind him. Hiruzen smiled to himself and glanced down at his crystal ball. What he saw was more than a bit concerning.

Naruto, who looked quite terrified, and Hiashi Hyuga having a conversation in the middle of the street.

* * *

**A/N: Ya boi is going to get that smoke from Hiashi. Don't worry, he won't kill him. Next chapter is the beginning of the Land of Waves.**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	5. Mission: Start

**A/N: Hello, boys and girls. I know you all missed me. I left you all on a cliffhanger last time, and since I'm a merciful god, I'll satisfy your curiosity **

**Time for chapter 5**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto felt a bead of nervous sweat trickle down his forehead as he was assessed by the head of the illustrious Hyuga clan. He was tall, had long brown, and wore a cold glare that was identical to Hinata's.

'Like father like daughter I guess. Maybe it's the eyes' the blonde thought nervously as he squirmed under the man's gaze. After several more moments of tense silence, Hiashi spoke for the first time.

"Good morning, Uzumaki-san. I trust that your missions have been successful as of late?" he asked. Naruto nodded and sighed.

"Yeah, they've been pretty simple. Just a whole bunch of D-Rank missions. All we've really been doing is cleaning out people's gutters and carrying things. I think 'grunt work' is the term Hinata used" he replied. The clan head chuckled.

"You do realize that you effectively _are_ grunts as of now, correct?" he said. The blonde nodded and kicked a rock that was sitting at his feet.

"You mentioned my daughter's name. She happens to be what I've sought you out to discuss" Hiashi said matter-of-factly. All of the fear that the genin had been suppressing immediately flared up again.

"O-oh. What did you want to talk about? I mean, she has been saying that she wants to move teams. Is that what this is about?" he asked. The clan head shook his head.

"She will not be switching cells. She must learn to adapt despite her dissatisfaction. Not that she didn't complain, because she most certainly did. _Angrily_. What I've come here to talk to you about specifically, Uzumaki-san, is my daughter's intrusion on your privacy last night. I would like to apologize on her behalf" he said. Naruto did a double-take. An apology was quite literally the last thing he had expected.

"You don't really need to apologize. She just followed me home. Her reasoning is a little confusing, and frustrating, but you didn't have to come all the way out here to apologize" he said carefully. Hiashi pointed at the boys fist, which was clenched tightly.

"You've become tense just from speaking about the incident. My daughter is more than a bit insensitive at times, and she has a bad habit of being something of an egomaniac. She does mean well, believe it or not, but she doesn't think about who her words damage when she speaks" he said. The blonde looked to the ground.

"It's not like I haven't called her on a little. I honestly deserve a lot of the backlash I get from her" he said. The clan head sighed.

"She has no comprehension of sarcasm in many cases. She's socially inept, to be perfectly honest. Which is why I would like to make a request" he said. Naruto frowned, but nodded and motioned for the man to continue.

"You certainly aren't a glowing example of etiquette, in fact, your manners are quite appalling from what I've seen, but that is exactly why I was not bothered by your placement on a team with Hinata. I would like you to, how do I put this, chip away at her shell, shall we say. Don't shy away from her because she is aloof and proud. Take any opportunity to interact. Do that, and she may...loosen up a bit" Hiashi said. The genin thought for a moment before nodding.

"I can do that, I guess. Is there anything else you want me to do?" he asked. The clan head nodded.

"Keep her safe. Intimidating as she may be, she has limitations" he said. Naruto chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"She's a hell of a lot stronger than me, Hiashi-sama. I don't think she needs or wants my protection" he said. Hiashi chuckled.

"Stronger, hm? This coming from the boy who pummeled a chunin with a mob of a thousand shadow clones. I think you'll do just fine" he said. The blonde furrowed his eyebrows.

"How do you know about all of that?" he asked skeptically. The clan head smirked and turned to leave.

"Nothing happens in this village without my knowing about it. Keep that in mind, Uzumaki-san" he said as he walked away. Naruto watched the man as the distance between them grew larger.

'What was that supposed to mean?'

* * *

Hinata nodded in approval as Naruto arrived at the gates. He was the last to appear, but he was still on time. Despite his punctuality, he looked quite stressed.

"Sorry I'm late. I ran into someone, and they stopped me to talk" he explained as he leaned against the side of the gate. The Hyuga girl raised an eyebrow at the explanation.

"And who was this person? I mean no offense to you, but I highly doubt a random citizen of Konoha would stop to talk to you" she said. The blonde scrambled for an explanation that didn't involve her father.

"Iruka was out and about. We talked about what I should expect on my first out-of-town mission. Just student-teacher stuff" he explained quickly. Hinata stared at him for several moments, clearly skeptical. Eventually, she nodded and turned her attention back to an old man who was conversing with Kakashi.

"Who is that? Is that who we're escorting?" Naruto asked curiously. Shikamaru, who had been silently sitting on a bench nearby, nodded.

"Yeah. That's Tazuna. Exactly what you'd expect of an old bridge builder. Cranky and temperamental" he said with a chuckle. The group then set off with Kakashi and Shikamaru in the lead. Naruto and Hinata walked alongside Tazuna on either side of him. They trekked on in silence for roughly an hour before Naruto spoke.

"So, what's this bridge for?" he asked curiously. The bridge builder glanced at him and took a sip from a bottle of alcohol.

"Trade. The Land of Waves will gain a great amount of financial benefit from having a crossable structure to connect it to the Land of Fire. it's extremely important" he explained. The blonde nodded and kept his eyes on the trail ahead.

"What kinds of things does your country specialize in? I haven't done much research on the Land of Waves" Hinata asked. Tazuna made a wide motion with his hand.

"Anything really. We have plenty of resources. Which is why we so desperately need this bridge. We're fairly poor as a whole, so such a trade route would be incredibly useful" he said. The Hyuga girl frowned at this.

"From the sounds of it, this is a monumentally important bridge. Why would you only request a team of genin for such an important task?" she asked suspiciously. The old man tensed at the question, but quickly calmed himself.

"There won't be anything that you can't handle. Just bandits and such" he assured. Both Naruto and Hinata eyed him skeptically, but chose to let it go. The group traveled for several more miles before Hinata stopped, her Byakugan suddenly active.

"We have company" she whispered. The blonde looked to Kakashi and Shikamaru, who were both halted as well. There were several moments of silence before Hinata suddenly tripped Naruto to the ground and tackled Tazuna. A blur of metallic movement flew over them as they looked on in shock from the ground.

"Pay better attention. We can't afford to allow Tazuna-san to be injured" the Hyuga girl snapped at Naruto before assuming her stance. The blonde growled and stood up, taking a defensive posture over the bridge builder. The blur of movement then appeared once more. This time, however, Hinata intercepted it with a swift kick, knocking it out of the air and revealing it's identity. It was a man with a chain attached to his left arm, and a mask covering the lower half of his face.

"Not bad, little girl. You've got sharp eyes. Unfortunately for you, not sharp enough" the ninja said menacingly. It was Naruto's turn to trip Hinata, which he did as quickly as he could. As his teammate fell to the ground, another blur flew over her head, landing next to the chain-wielding man. Naruto pulled Hinata to her feet and returned to Tazuna.

"How about _you_ pay better attention. I can't have you dying out here. It'll cost me my head if you do" he said. The Hyuga girl dusted herself off, mentally taking note of the remark, which sounded oddly specific. They both stared at their enemies, who were assessing them silently. The one that Hinata had kicked took a step forward, but stopped, seemingly frozen in place.

"What the hell is this?!" the enemy shinobi demanded. Naruto glanced to his left and grinned. Shikamaru's shadow was connected to those of both of the chain-bearing ninja.

"Look, even you have to admit that you deserve this. You just sat there. Of course I was going to lock you down" the shadow user said tiredly. Kakashi then made his way to the genin.

"Well, this is interesting. These two are known as the Demon Brothers if i'm not mistaken. They're chunin. These aren't bandits, Tazuna. I think you have some explaining to do" he said sternly. The bridge builder opened his mouth to protest strongly, but shut it again and sighed.

"Fine. I knew these two were coming. They were sent after me to end my life. They don't want me to get back to the Land of Waves with the blueprints for the bridge" he said. The jonin frowned underneath his mask.

"Why would two chunin be sent to kill a bridge builder? Who sent them?" he questioned. Tazuna lowered his eyes to the ground.

"I can't answer that" he said quietly. Kakashi narrowed his eyes and took a threatening step forward.

"You'd better. Because, if you don't, we'll abandon you out here and let you be mauled by these two. Shikamaru can release his jutsu any time he feels like it" he warned. The old man pursed his lips and exhaled through his nose.

"A mob boss named Gato sent them. He controls much of the economy in the Land of Waves. The bridge would loosen his iron grip, and he wants me dead for that reason" he explained. The silver haired ninja nodded in understanding.

"Well, thank you for your honesty. Unfortunately, those details automatically upgrade this mission from C-Rank to A-Rank. Far too much for my genin to handle. You're on your own now" he said. Tazuna's head snapped up.

"Please, don't leave me out here! My people need this bridge!" he begged. Kakashi shrugged and motioned for his genin to follow him in the opposite direction.

"That isn't a concern of mine at this point" he replied. To the jonin's surprise, Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru refused to follow him.

"Hurry up, you three. We don't have all day" he called to them. The blonde shook his head and motioned for his sensei to come back.

"Look, we've already made it this far, so why don't we just finish the job? It's almost dark anyway, so we should at least sleep on this" he said. Kakashi raised an eyebrow and glanced at the other genin, who nodded.

"This mission is far beyond your capabilities. Are you sure you actually want to do this? Answer carefully, your lives may depend on it. Literally" he asked. Shikamaru yawned and shrugged.

"It'd be a hell of a lot more troublesome to run all the way back to Konoha than to just keep doing what we were doing. Let's give this a shot" he said. The silver haired ninja thought for a moment before finally caving to the combined pressure of his genin's stares.

"Fine, we can try this. Don't say I didn't warn you, though" he said. Tazuna sighed in relief and allowed Kakashi to lead he and the children down the route for another hour. After the hour had passed, it was pitch dark, prompting the party to set up camp.

Although it was quite unusual, Team Seven had certainly taken a step up from D-Ranked missions. A much on than was perhaps recommendable.

* * *

Hinata rubbed her eyes and sat up in her tent. She glanced out of it's flap and sighed frustratedly. It was the middle of the night, and it was pitch black.

'How irritating. I need to be sleeping. We wake at dawn' she thought to herself frustratedly. She laid flat on her back for several more minutes before giving up and exiting her tent. To her surprise, there was a small fire burning roughly fifty feet from the camp, with a single person sitting beside it. The person's identity wasn't clear from her current position, prompting the Hyuga girl to quietly make her way toward the fire. Once she reached it, who was sitting beside it became clear.

"Uzumaki-san? What are you doing awake at this hour?" she asked. Naruto glanced over his shoulder at her and shrugged.

"I can't sleep. I tried for a few hours, but I gave up after a little while. It's a little chilly, so I made this fire. If the light woke you up, I'm sorry" he said. Hinata nodded and sat down across from him on the other side of the dim fire.

"Is there any particular reason you're having trouble sleeping?" she asked curiously. The excitable genin sighed and leaned his head back.

"Just thinking about a lot of things. Mostly things to do with this mission. Something Kakashi-sensei said really stuck with me" he said. Hinata raised an eyebrow.

"And what would that be?" she asked. Naruto pulled out a kunai and studied it for a moment before sticking it into the ground beside himself.

"That this mission could cost us our lives. The idea that I could die within a few days is...strange. Strange because it's not entirely unwelcome, I guess" he admitted. The Hyuga heiress frowned.

"What do you mean? Why would you not be fearful of your own death?" she asked skeptically. The blonde shrugged.

"I'm not quite as lazy as Shikamaru is, but I'm still decently lazy about certain things. One of those things is responsibilities. Having things expected of me is stressful. It's a completely new feeling. I've never been expected to succeed or anything close to it before. Kicking the bucket now would mean that I wouldn't have to deal with those expectations" he said. The Hyuga girl chuckled to herself.

"I suppose being the village pariah may have a benefit or two. You've never really had to contend with things such as curfews or family standards. It must be a soothing reality to live in" she said. Naruto shook his head.

"We come from two different places, Hinata. To me, having a standard to live up to sounds like an awesome motivator, and having a curfew would be a really sweet thing. It would make me feel like somebody cared where I went and when" he said.

"And to me, having neither of those things sounds like a heavenly relief of stress. I suppose you're right. Perspective affects the attractiveness of certain lifestyles" she said, finishing the blonde's point.

"What are your thoughts about the idea of dying out here?" Naruto asked. Hinata thought for a moment before answering the sensitive question.

"I would much rather survive. I have a clan to lead. I'm not the head yet, but I will be once I turn eighteen. I would rather not leave my clan's line splintered. Beyond your dislike of having responsibility forced upon you, what do you think of the prospect of dying on this mission?" she said. The blonde laughed a bit, his voice suddenly a bit more melancholy.

"I would rather die out here than in my own apartment. Or out in the street for that matter. I want my death to mean something, you know?" he said. Hinata furrowed her eyebrows.

"You speak as though such a death is likely" she said, her voicing containing the subtelest hint of concern. The blonde glanced up from the fire and looked her in the eyes.

"You really haven't pieced it together, have you? The villagers do a whole lot more than just glare at me, Hinata" he said bluntly. The Hyuga heiress felt her stomach churn at what he was suggesting.

"There have been attempts on your life, Uzumaki-san? When?" she asked. Naruto nodded and pulled his kunai out of the ground.

"Yup. They take a swing at it once every few months. Usually in October. They haven't succeeded yet, obviously, but who knows? Maybe they'll catch me off guard one of these times" he said. Hinata stared at the genin wide-eyed.

"How can you speak of such things so easily? Does your own life really mean that little to you?" she asked quietly. The blonde gave her a pained smile.

"When you've been told that you're a wretch your whole life, that you aren't worth anybody's time, you start to believe it after a little while. I've found ways to keep myself motivated, but that motivation slips every once in a while. And when it does, I end up in a dark place" he said honestly, his hands trembling slightly from both exhaustion and emotion. The Hyuga girl felt a wave of guilt wash over her as she recalled her words to Naruto on the Hokage building roof.

She studied her teammate, who was clearly doing his best to stay calm, for several moments before broaching an incredibly risky topic.

"Have you ever become...suicidal, Uzumaki-san?" she asked carefully. The genin tensed at the question, but quickly relaxed.

"Only once, and I promised myself never let myself fall that far again. Suicide is giving up, and I hate giving up more than just about anything" he said firmly. Hinata nodded. To her own surprise, she found that his words brought her a degree of relief. She then stood up from her spot by the fire and began making her way back toward her tent.

"Thank you for the talk, Uzumaki-san. I am now sufficiently tired enough to sleep" she said gratefully as she opened the flap of her tent. Before she could fully enter, Naruto spoke once more.

" 'Night, Hinata" he called quietly. The Hyuga girl remained silent for several moments before smiling to herself and slipping inside her tent.

"Good night, Uzumaki-san"

* * *

**A/N: and that's about as positive as they're gonna get for the next little while. Hinata's still a grade A bitch, people. Don't let this deceive you lol**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	6. A Creeping Mist

**A/N: Sorry for the longer wait. I had some stuff to do. Don't worry, though. I'll be on point for the rest of the weekend**

**Time for chapter 6**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto yawned as he and the rest of his team trekked on towards an oncoming body of water. They had awoken at the crack of dawn to continue their journey to the Land of Waves, and they were nearly there. The body of water they were about to cross represented the natural border between nations.

"There should be a boat up ahead. It'll be a tight fit, but we should be able to make it in one trip" Tazuna said as they reached the beach. As the old man had predicted, there was a transfer boat awaiting them at the bank. The party made their way to the boat and piled in. Tazuna had also been right when he had said that it would be a tight fit, as there was little, if any, space.

"This sucks" Naruto complained as he and Hinata were crushed into a corner. Shikamaru wasn't faring much better, as he was more or less stuck underneath Kakashi. As they crossed the water, the boat rocked and swayed, causing each ninja to readjust the distribution of their weight in order to prevent the boat from tipping. During one particularly extreme shift, Hinata's face was slammed into Naruto's, causing her forehead to hit his cheekbone.

"Ow…" Naruto groaned as the Hyuga girl fought against gravity to prevent herself from falling on the blonde completely. After several tense moments, the boat re-steadied itself, allowing Hinata to scoot several inches away from Naruto.

"I didn't mean to headbutt you. I'm sorry…" she apologized. The blonde raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"It's fine. I just wish you didn't have such a hard head" he replied. The Hyuga heiress glared at him, but calmed herself.

"If only you weren't so physically fragile, then the density of my skull wouldn't be an issue" she countered, her tone uncharacteristically teasing. Naruto grinned and poked her on the forehead, causing her to flinch.

"From the looks of it, you got bruised worse than me. If anybody's fragile, it's you, Hinata" he said. The Hyuga heiress responded by poking him in the ribs, infusing a bit of chakra into them. The excitable genin yelped as his body was jolted with foreign energy. He rubbed his ribcage and glanced up at Hinata, who was covering her mouth and giggling.

"Forgive me for laughing, but that was quite funny" she said through her laughs. Naruto chuckled and settled back into place as the boat approached the Land of Waves.

"I didn't know you were even capable of laughing, so I guess I don't mind" he replied. The Hyuga girl frowned and looked out over the water before looking back to Naruto.

"Of course I can laugh. I simply have standards when it comes to humor, unlike you" she retorted haughtily. The blonde sighed heavily.

'Right back to being a bitch. Go figure' he thought to himself as the boat entered a swath of thick mist. Kakashi, who had been watching Naruto and Hinata bicker with great amusement, frowned at the arrival of the fog.

"This mist isn't natural. Be on guard" he warned his team. The genin all nodded and alerted themselves. The boat soon reached land, prompting Team Seven and Tazuna to tenatively exit. Once they were fully grounded, they began to walk straight ahead. For several moments, there was peace. That peace was shattered when an enormous butcher's knife came flying through the air, barely missing decapitating Shikamaru.

"We have company. Surround Tazuna and don't move" Kakashi ordered. The genin did as they were told and formed a defensive triangle around the bridge builder. Hinata activated her Byakugan and surveyed the area around them. She gasped and looked to Kakashi.

"Two o'clock, Kakashi-sensei!" she yelled. The jonin immediately jumped straight up, barely avoiding bisection by the same large knife that had flown past them moments beforehand. Kakashi then threw a kunai in a seemingly random direction. The small projectile was then audibly deflected, giving the silver haired ninja all the information he needed to determine his adversary's location.

Kakashi weaved several hand-seals and reared his head back. The genin suddenly felt the air temperature shift as their sensei prepared a jutsu.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" the jonin yelled. A blast of orange flames erupted from his mouth and traveled east, clearing away much of the mist and igniting the ground. The figure that was revealed was horrifying. It was a man, and he was nothing short of appalling. He was tall, had serrated teeth, and wielded the enormous knife that had been terrorizing Team Seven.

"Well, this is unexpected. Of all the people I expected to encounter on this mission, you weren't one of them, Zabuza Momochi" Kakashi said. The man grinned underneath the bandages that covered the lower half of his face.

"So you know my name. I see that my rreputation preceeds me. I'm flattered" he said in a raspy, malicious voice. He then charged forward and swung his blade at the jonin, who produced a pair of kunai and blocked the strike. Sparks flew in all directions as the ninja clashed. Zabuza glanced at Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru as he strained against Kakashi.

"I see you brought children for me. How thoughtful of you, Kakashi the Copy Ninja" he said sadistically. He then kicked the silver haired ninja in the chest and charged the genin. He swung his blade in a downward arc at them. All three combined their kunai and physical strength in order to block the strike. Despite the combined effort, the impact forced both Hinata and Shikamaru to their knees, leaving Naruto momentarily alone to defend himself.

"Seems like you've got the most horse-power of your group. Take that to the bank, kid. Because it's all you've got to be happy about right now" Zabuza said with a smirk. He then kicked the blonde underneath his chin, sending him flying backwards. Naruto crashed to the ground twenty feet away with a trail of blood dripping from his mouth due to a split lip. The mist ninja leapt into the air and raised his blade, preparing to cut the boy in half. Before he could bring his sword down on Naruto, Kakashi appeared between them and caught it between his palms.

"Your fight is with me, Zabuza. Keep them out of this" he warned. He pried the blade from the man's hands and tossed it up in the air. He then slammed a punch into the right side of Zabuza's jaw, causing him to take three steps back. The jonin reached up and caught the man's sword, which he had tossed into the air. He pointed it's tip at Zabuza and slowly reached to remove his forehead protector from his left eye.

Zabuza scowled and made a hand seal. Two copies of himself then appeared on either side of him. He grinned and looked back to Naruto, who had returned to Tazuna and his teammates.

"I think it's only fair that the brats get a work out too. Don't you agree, Kakashi?" he asked rhetorically. He then sent his clones after the genin and charged Kakashi.

Despite the warning they had been given by their sensei, the children were not prepared in the least for the battle that was to come.

* * *

Hinata gritted her teeth as the water clones approached she and her teammates. They were at a monumental strength disadvantage, even against clones. She looked to Naruto, who was wiping blood from his lip.

"Uzumaki-san, make clones, as many as you can. We don't have anything resembling the strength to face this man, so we're going to use numbers instead" she said. Shikamaru, having heard about Naruto's beating of Mizuki from his father, raised an eyebrow.

"Are you _sure_ you want him to do that? It might get a little crowded" he asked. Hinata frowned at this.

"I'm sure we'll have plenty of space, Nara-san. Now, Uzumaki-san-" she began. Before she could finish her sentence, the battlefield was absolutely swamped with Naruto clones.

"There you go. That's as many as I can crank out" the blonde said proudly. The Hyuga heiress's mouth hung open in shock as she activated her byakugan to scan the area.

"T-two thousand clones? How? How in god's name is that possible?" she said, dumbfounded by Naruto's incredible feat of chakra reserves. Shikamaru patted her on the shoulder and chuckled.

"Not as dumb as you thought, Hinata?" he asked humorously. Hinata shook her head and regained her bearings.

"Don't speak as though this is unsurprising, Nara-san" she said defensively. They then turned their attention back to Zabuza's clones, who were tearing through Naruto's mob of doppelgangers.

"You stay here, Shikamaru. Your shadow jutsu will be a good thing to have when it comes to keeping Tazuna safe. Let Hinata and I do the figthing" Naruto ordered. The Nara nodded and took a defensive stance in front of the bridge builder. The blonde then looked to Hinata and nodded. The pair then charged the water clones, wading through the ocean of Naruto's as they moved forward. After several seconds of travel, they reached the enemy clones.

"You take the one on the left. I'll take the one on the right" the blonde said. The Hyuga girl nodded and peeled off to her left. Naruto launched himself forward at the rightmost clones, throwing a left-handed punch at Zabuza's head. The doppelganger easily dodged the strike and countered with a hard punch to the left side of the blonde's jaw. Naruto stumbled a bit, but quickly regained his footing.

He aggressively attacked the mist ninja again, with nearly fifty clones in tow. The water clones drew a kunai and began mowing through the clones two at a time. He eventually reached Naruto, stabbing him in the shoulder with a kunai and snapping his head back with a sharp punch. The blonde stumbled back and bumped into Hinata, who was being similarly dominated.

"This is rough. Even with this many clones, we can't touch them" he said. The Hyuga girl and glanced at his shoulder, frowning upon spotting his injury.

"You're hurt, Uzumaki-san" she said. Naruto shrugged and threw a volley of kunai at one of Zabuza's clones, all of which were deflected.

"It's nothing terrible. What you should be worrying about is how we get out of this situation" he said as their backs were pressed together. Both Zabuza clones were stalking them, closing their escape routes one by one. Hinata felt fear begin to grip her as the mist ninja grinned at her sadistically.

"Would you be willing to pass on my final words to my father if I die here?" she asked her teammate. The blonde, to her surprise, shook his head.

"No for two reasons. One, you aren't going to die here, I'll make sure of that. And two, if you die, I'll die. I would rather be killed by this jackass than your dad" he said. The Hyuga girl furrowed her eyebrows, but didn't open her mouth, as Zabuza was quickly closing in as he mowed through Naruto's clones. Just as the genin were about to be butchered by the water clones, they disappeared.

"Wait...what?" Naruto asked no-one in particular. He then made a hand seal and dispelled his clones, clearing the battlefield. Hinata focused her Byakugan and searched the area, eventually finding the answer to the question burning in both of their minds.

"It seems that sensei has killed Zabuza" she said. The blonde grinned and glanced to Shikamaru and Tazuna, who were uninjured.

"Let's go join him" he said, motioning for Hinata to follow him. The Hyuga girl nodded and jogged after Naruto as he ran towards his teacher. As they approached, they noticed something strange. A figure wearing a mask was standing over the body of Zabuza, and appeared to be the one who had killed him. Kakashi, who was also standing near the body, glanced over his shoulder and spotted his approaching students.

"Yo. Looks like you're both in one piece. That's good" he said as they made their way to him. Naruto gestured to the masked ninja.

"Who's that?" he asked skeptically. The mysterious ninja bowed respectfully and removed a needle from Zabuza's neck.

"I cannot disclose that information. I can tell you this. I'm a hunter ninja, and I have been tracking Zabuza Momochi for several days. Thank you all for keeping him occupied for long enough for me to arrive and finish my job" the ninja said. He then picked up the mist ninja's body and slung it over his shoulder.

"Good day" he said politely before vanishing in a puff of smoke. Kakashi then looked to his students and smiled.

"So, what did you think of your first battle?" he asked. Naruto shuddered and shook his head rapidly.

"It was terrible. That guy was way too strong for us" he said. The silver hair ninja chuckled and glanced at Hinata, who was scowling.

"What about you, Hinata? How did you feel about your first battle?" he asked. The Hyuga girl gave him a concerned stare.

"Zabuza wasn't dead. His chakra system was still functioning" she said. Kakashi's eyes widened at the statement.

"Are you absolutely sure?" he asked urgently. Hinata nodded and looked off in the direction she assumed that the masked ninja had gone.

"Yes, I am. We need to find a place to regroup. Our conflict with Zabuza Momochi is far from over, I fear" she said.

"You can all stay with my family"

The group glanced to their left and saw Shikamaru and Tazuna approaching them. Once they reached the sight of Zabuza's 'death', the bridge builder looked to Kakashi for an answer to his offer.

"What do you say?" he asked. The jonin nodded and motioned for the old man to lead the way.

"Alright. Thank you for your hospitality" he said. Tazuna took the lead and signaled for the group to follow him. Team Seven began to walk after the bridge builder who, thankfully, was walking at a slow pace.

The genin had survived their first battle, but they were far from safe.

* * *

Naruto sighed heavily as a knock came at his door. He sat up in bed and lumbered over to the door, opening it slowly.

"Hinata? What are you doing here? Do you need a blanket or something?" he asked. The Hyuga girl ignored his question and stepped into the room Tazuna had lent to Naruto, closing the door behind her.

"What did you mean when you said you would rather die to Zabuza than my father? To my knowledge, the two of you have never met" she asked. The blonde tensed at the question, mentally scrambling for a believable lie. In the end, he opted to be honest.

"He's the guy that stopped me to talk yesterday. That's the real reason I was a little late" he admitted. Hinata nodded.

"I assumed as much. What did he wish to speak to you about?" she pressed. Naruto suddenly felt incredibly nervous. The information he was being forced to reveal was certain to anger his teammate, and their relationship was far from ideal as it was.

"He told me to...protect you. He was worried about you, and he wanted me to make sure you survived the mission. He never actually threatened me, but I get a strong feeling that he'd hang me out to dry if you got hurt" he explained. The Hyuga girl scowled.

"Well, he certainly seems to be much more protective than he should be. I don't need protection, especially from you, Uzumaki-san. I'm perfectly capable of defending myself. Don't let his words go to your head. You wouldn't meet the requirments to be my bodyguard in the first place" she said bluntly. The blonde rubbed his eyes and nodded.

"I know, I know. I suck, and you're better than me. Got anything else to say? If not, leave me alone and let me sleep" he replied. Hinata glared at him for a moment before shaking her head and turning to leave.

"Sleep well, Uzumaki-san. You'll need to be fresh tomorrow" she said as she opened the door to exit. Before she could, Naruto called out to her.

"Every once in awhile, you should think about how good you've really got it. You may not appreciate your dad being protective, but at least he cares. You may not like me or Shikamaru, but at least _we_ care. I do, at least. I'm not even sure why. I don't have any of those things, and I get the feeling Kakashi-sensei doesn't either. I don't have parents to worry about me, and you sure as hell don't give a damn about me. Be grateful for the people who care about you, Hinata. You never know when one of them will disappear" he said.

The Hyuga girl stared at him over her shoulder for several moments before turning her back to him again. She exited the room quickly, seemingly out of irritation with his speech. Little did Naruto know, the emotion overwhelming the girl was not anger.

It was guilt.

* * *

**A/N: I love writing this arc when I get the chance. There's a whole bunch of different directions you can take it.**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	7. Ice Frozen, Ice Melted

**A/N: Felt like updating a bit earlier today. This'll be a fun chapter. Might be a pretty long one too**

**Time for chapter 7**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto wiped a bit of sweat from his brow as he stared up at the tree he had been climbing for the last two hours. Kakashi had sent Team Seven out into the nearby forest for a special form of training. As it turned out, it was possible to walk on vertical surfaces with the aid of one's chakra. By focusing said chakra into their feet, the genin could walk on nearly any surface, water included.

Hinata was already capable of the technique, as she had been taught at a young age by her family. Shikamaru had not been taught, but he had grasped the technique incredibly quickly. Naruto, on the other hand, had not been so fortunate. His massive reserves of chakra made it immensely difficult to focus the correct amount of chakra into his feet. In most cases, he siphoned too much, with resulted in his launching from the tree.

'Here goes nothing' the blonde thought to himself as he took to unsteady steps up the side of the tree. To his surprise, this climbing of the tree went quite smoothly, with the genin reaching the second highest branch. He carefully latched onto the protrusion and made his way onto it. He looked down to the ground and chuckled nervously. He was nearly seventy feet from the forest floor, and a fall would be quite painful.

"From the look plastered on your face, heights aren't a favorite of yours"

Naruto glanced to his left, where another tree was situated. Sitting on a branch at roughly the same height as the blonde was a fairly ambiguous looking person. The person had long brown hair, somewhat feminine features, and the voice could have belonged to either gender. Before he could open his mouth, the stranger chuckled and spoke.

"Before you trip over yourself anymore than you already have, I'm a boy. You aren't the first to struggle with that distinction" he said with a humorous smile. Naruto nodded and leaned back against the tree.

'He's a guy, and he's even prettier than Hinata. Not something I thought would ever cross my mind' he thought to himself. The genin then furrowed his eyebrows and studied the boy.

"How are you up here, exactly? Are you a ninja too?" he asked skeptically. The feminine boy shook his head and tapped on the tree.

"Nope. I'm just extremely good at climbing these. It's a hobby of mine. My name is Haku. by the way" he said. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the explanation, but chose not to press any further.

"Mine's Naruto. Nice to meet you" he replied. The boys made small talk for several minutes before they were interrupted by Hinata, who had been searching for the blonde.

"There you are. Despite your general loudness, you're shockingly difficult to track down" the Hyuga girl said after landing on Naruto's branch.

"What do you need, Hinata? Is Zabuza back? Did Shikamaru finally overachieve?" the blonde asked jokingly. At the name of the mist Ninja, Haku momentarily tensed, but suppressed the reaction so quickly that neither genin was able to catch a glimpse of it. Hinata shook her head at the questions.

"No, none of those things have happened. If they had, you would have noticed. Even _your_ senses aren't that dull" she said. The Hyuga girl then looked to Haku and frowned.

"Who is this, Uzumaki-san?" she asked curiously. Naruto grumbled at her first mark, but shrugged at the second.

"His name is Haku. I met him all of ten minutes ago" he explained. Hinata did a double-take at the masculine pronoun the blonde had used in reference to Haku, a look of obvious confusion on her face. After regaining her momentarily lost composure, the Hyuga heiress began to walk down the side of the tree.

"Be back home in fifteen minutes, Uzumaki-san. Dinner will be served then" she ordered as she descended the stump. After she was assuredly out of earshot, Haku sighed and gave Naruto a sympathetic look.

"She verbally abuses you, doesn't she?" he asked. The blonde shook his head and chuckled to himself.

"Not really. She just hates my guts. Most of what she says is about how much better than me she is. It's never really all that personal, save for a time or two" he replied. The feminine boy stared off in the direction Hinata had walked.

"Despite the harshness of her tone, I still get the feeling that she harbors much more complex emotions regarding you. That rocky exterior is nothing but a front" he said. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows.

"No, I'm pretty sure her feelings regarding me are pretty simple. She hates things that she thinks are below her, and in one sense, I _am_ below her. I did see her laugh once, though, so maybe she has a person buried underneath all of that snark" he said. Haku turned back to the blonde.

"The reason I say that she likely doesn't actually hate you is that she came to find you for dinner. If she truly detested you, she would have left you here to go hungry. She also seemed to be somewhat relieved by the fact that I wasn't here to threaten or harm you" he explained. Naruto considered his explanation for a moment before nodding.

"I guess that makes sense. I don't know why you being non-threatening to me would be a relief to her, but I've never been great at reading into that kind of thing" he said. Haku chuckled to himself.

'Clearly' he thought to himself. The boys talked for another fifteen minutes before Naruto stood up to leave.

"Hinata will probably skewer me with a fork if I'm not at dinner, so I should get going" he said. Haku nodded and waved goodbye as the blonde maneuvered his way down the side of his tree. The boy sighed to himself sadly.

'Every friend I make becomes nothing more than a name in the obituaries'

* * *

Hinata grunted with effort as she carried a box of building supplies across the half-finished bridge. Tazuna had brought Team Seven out to the unfinished structure in order to help with its construction. Their role was to move boxes and beams across and around the bridge, which was both tiring and incredibly mundane.

"How are you holding up, Hinata?"

The Hyuga heiress glanced to her right and spotted Kakashi carrying a metal beam. He appeared to have not even broken a sweat despite the rigorous exercise. Hinata shrugged as best she could while she set down her box in it's designated destination.

"This is somewhat tiring, but not unbearable. Quite boring, if you ask me" she replied. The jonin nodded and returned to his work. The Hyuga girl looked to the northern side of the bridge, where Naruto and Shikamaru were slaving away.

'Even Uzumaki-san is beginning to fatigue. This is just horrible. I would rather be forced to climb every tree in the forest than do grunt work' she thought to herself glumly. The genin continued to grind away for another thirty minutes. Nothing of note happened. No accidents, no drama, no great successes.

Once those thirty minutes had passed, however, something interesting _did_ happen. A heavy mist rolled over the bridge without warning, prompting Hinata to activate her byakugan.

'The same tactic again. How peculiar' she thought as she looked to her team, who all nodded and began evacuating the various workers. After the builders had been cleared, save for Tazuna, who had demanded to stay behind, the genin all scampered to Kakashi to await directions.

"We're going to use more or less the same arrangement. I want the three of you to guard Tazuna. I'll handle Zabuza" the jonin ordered. The children nodded and formed their defensive triangle around the bridge builder. Then, they waited. For close to five minutes, there was silence. Eventually, a dark chuckle could be heard from within the mist. As it drew closer, the footsteps of not one, but two people could be heard.

"It sounds like he brought help. This could be trouble" the silver haired ninja muttered under his breath. The two figures came into view moments later. One of them was clearly Zabuza, but the second figure was more than a bit shocking.

"That's the same hunter ninja from before. Just as I thought" Hinata said. The mist ninja and the hunter stopped advancing roughly twenty feet from Team Seven.

"Greetings, Kakashi. It's been a few days. I see you brought your brats again" Zabuza said with a dark grin. The jonin drew a kunai took a step forward.

"And this time, you won't be making any clones to bother them with. I'll make sure of that" he said threateningly. The mist ninja looked to the hunter and gestured to the genin.

"You deal with the children. They shouldn't require much effort to kill" he ordered. The hunter nodded and waved a hand in front of his face. Suddenly, he was wielding three needles made of ice.

"Yes, Zabuza-sama" he said. He then charged at Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru. The blonde looked to Shikamaru.

"Stay with Tazuna" he said. The Shadow user nodded and drew a kunai to deflect an ice needle that had been launched at him. Naruto and Hinata then sprinted towards the hunter, meeting him in the middle of the bridge. The blonde threw a right-handed punch towards his opponent's head, a strike that the hunter easily leaned away from and countered with a stepping knee to Naruto's chest.

'He's fast as hell' the excitable genin thought as he stepped back to catch the wind that had been knocked out of him. He was then passed by Hinata, who engaged the hunter aggressively. She launched a combination of palm strikes to the ninja's body and head, landing two of them. As the exchange deepened, however, the Hyuga girl was slowly overwhelmed by the speed of her foe. She was eventually knocked backwards by a hard punch to the center of her forehead.

She was caught and steadied by Naruto before she could fall to her rear end. The pair both studied the enemy before them. After several seconds, Hinata looked to the blonde.

"We need to create a diversion. We don't have even half of the speed necessary to contend with him. Do you have any smoke bombs on you?" she asked. Naruto nodded and reached into his tool pack.

"I'm guessing you want me to throw it at him so you can attack him while he's blind?" he asked. Hinata nodded and motioned for the blonde to enact the plan. The excitable genin rushed the hunter and hurled two smoke bombs at him, both of which burst at his feet. Hinata then rushed into the cloud of smoke. Due to his lack of a dojutsu, Naruto was forced to wait at the edge of the cloud as his teammate battle the hunter.

After several moments of tense, unviewable combat, the Hyuga heiress came flying out of the smoke. She crashed into Naruto, knocking him to the ground.

"Could you _not_ get launched during one of these fights? I'm getting sick of being your landing pad" Naruto groaned as Hinata got up from on top of him. She chuckled to herself and assumed her stance.

"My father ordered you to protect me, didn't he? While I entirely detest his choice in bodyguard, you do make a good cushion" she replied. The blonde growled and stood up.

"Glad I could be of some use to you, _Queen Hyuga._ We're best friends now, right?" he asked sarcastically. Before they could start bickering, the hunter emerged from the smoke and kicked them backwards several feet.

"You argue like a married couple on the verge of an ugly divorce in the middle of battle. You really should be paying better attention" he said. The hunter then gestured to the puddle of water at their feet.

"Why do you think Zabuza-sama used the mist again? He knows as well as you do that the same tactic would never work twice. He used it to assist _me_" he said. The pair both flinch as the water supercooled and froze. It then rose from the ground and swirled around them for several moments.

"Demonic Ice Mirrors!" the hunter yelled. The water formed into a dozen or so icy mirrors in a dome-like formation around the genin at his command. The hunter then sunk into one of them, much to the confusion of Naruto and Hinata.

"Be warned, none have survived this technique. You will die here today, whether you wish to or not" he called from within the ice. Before the children could react, a volley of frozen needles came flying at them from all directions. By the time the storm was finished, both genin were covered in small cuts and puncture wounds.

"I couldn't even see them. Even with my byakugan" the Hyuga girl said, her tone brittle with shock. The blonde clenched his jaw and created several shadow clones.

"We need to break those mirrors" he said. He then sent his clones to strike the icy mirrors. Before they could make contact with them, they were shredded to bits by a wave of needles. The hunter's outline then appeared in several of the mirrors at once.

"You cannot touch the mirrors. Even if you did, they are nearly indestructible. Give up. Death will be painless if you do" he said. The pair both growled in defiance and continued make rushes for the mirrors, being repelled each time. After several minutes of failure, the Hyuga girl came to a realization.

"He is moving from mirror to mirror at an absolutely blinding speed. We have to intercept him somehow" she said through gritted teeth. Naruto took a deep breath and pulled a needle out of his arm.

"How do we do that, though? Even your eyes can't track him" he pointed out. The Hyuga heiress responded by side-stepping a trio of needles.

"There's a pattern to the way he moves and where he moves to. It's subtle, but timeable. For every fifth flurry of needles, he moves one mirror to the left, or he crosses to the opposite side" she explained in a hushed tone. The blonde nodded and turned his attention back to the hunter.

"We're going to survive you, Haku. We'll do more than that, actually. We're going to bring you down" he assured. The hunter visibly tensed.

"So you knew?" he asked. Naruto nodded and assumed a taijutsu stance as he prepared to evade a storm of needles.

"I recognized your voice. I think Hinata did too. I would ask you why you're trying to kill us, but it's pretty clear that you only interacted with us to gain information" he said, a hint of pain in his voice. Haku went silent for a moment before disappearing from the mirror he had been occupying. He reappeared directly in front of Naruto and punched him across the left side of his jaw, sending him to his rear end before retreating back into a slab of reflective ice.

"Keep your personal feelings out of this, Naruto-san. It will make things much more difficult for both you and I if you don't" the hunter warned. The genin then reengaged Haku, managing to make contact with him as he flew by on several occasions, but never inflicting damage. Finally, during one specific exchange, Hinata was able to kick Haku out of the air, sending him to the ground roughly ten feet from herself and Naruto.

"Those eyes of your are a nuisance. I think I'll aim for them next time" Haku growled as he stood to his feet and entered an ice mirror. The hunter then began to erratically change his position. Flying from mirror to mirror in a seemingly random and nonsensical pattern.

'I won't be able to dodge. I need to protect my eyes' Hinata thought frantically. She threw up her hands to cover her face as Haku prepared to launch a flurry of needles. The hunter noticed that she had left her neck exposed during her efforts to avoid ocular injury and adjusted his aim.

"Checkmate, Hinata-san" he whispered from the mirror directly behind the Hyuga girl. Hinata reflexively whipped around to face him, exposing her neck further. Haku then launched an absolute maelstrom of needles in her direction. Hinata squeezed her eyes shut as she awaited the sting of the puncture wounds.

To her surprise, the cold sting never came.

* * *

Kakashi gritted his teeth as he avoided a swing of Zabuza's blade. He and the mist ninja had been fighting for roughly ten minutes, and it had been anything but easy. They were nearly even.

"You're a slippery one, Kakashi. Tough to pin down" Zabuza said as he continued to attack the silver hair ninja. Kakashi stepped to the left to avoid a thrust of the man's sword, pivoting off to his left as he did so. The jonin then slammed a left handed punch into the right side of Zabuza's jaw, spinning his head around and causing him to stumble back. As the sharingan ninja moved in to follow up on his successful counter, who was struck by the flat of the mist ninja's blade, launching him back nearly twenty feet.

Kakashi landed on his feet and regained his footing. He glared at Zabuza and prepared to attack once more, but stopped when he noticed that the mist ninja was staring off to his left with a look of amusement on his face.

"It looks like Haku has two of your brats locked up. I'm sorry to say, but they're more or less dead in the water now" he said, turning his gaze back to the jonin. Kakashi glanced in the direction Zabuza had been looking and clenched his jaw. Naruto and Hinata were confined with what appeared to be a dome of mirrors made of ice. He took a deep breath and charged the mist ninja again, this time leading with a kick to the right side of the man's ribcage. The kick landed square to Zabuza's floating ribs, causing him to double over. The jonin the built on his success by grabbing him by the neck and flinging him back several meters.

'I have to end this soon. They won't last long in that dome of ice. Hang on, you two'

* * *

Hinata's eyes slowly opened as she realized that she was, in fact, alive. Even more interesting was the fact that she wasn't in any more pain than she had been previously. She glanced up from the ground, which she had looked to in fear when Haku's needles had been launched. What she saw made her blood run cold. Naruto had thrown himself in front of her in order to shield her from the storm of icy needles, which explained why the Hyuga girl was more or less fine physically.

"U-uzumaki-san?" she said quietly. Naruto glanced over his shoulder at the girl and gave her a strained smile. His body was riddled with needles, nearly fifty in total.

"What's with the look? You look like you just saw a ghost" he said humorously. His knees then gave out, causing him to fall backward. Hinata snapped out of her daze and caught him just before he could hit the ground.

"Why? Why would you do something so stupid and reckless?" she demanded as she cradled his head. The blonde tried to shrug, but coughed painfully as a result, spilling a bit of blood from his mouth.

"I still plan on keeping my promise to your father. Besides, it's better that I die here rather than you. You're important, Hinata. I'm not" he said honestly. The Hyuga girl felt her chest tighten.

"But you're a member of this team, and we need you to function properly. We _need_ you, Uzumaki-san" she reasoned quietly. Naruto shook his head and chuckled.

"Think of it this way, you've been saying since the day of our cell assignment that you would rather be on a different team. It's not quite a new team, but you won't have to deal with my antics anymore" he said. The Hyuga girl felt her eyes become wet at his words. Guilt was taking hold of her, and she was being overwhelmed.

"I jumped to conclusions too quickly. I'm satisfied with my team. You and Nara-san have been reliable and brave throughout this mission. I don't want this cell to be splintered" she said tensely. Naruto smiled.

"Well, I'm glad you're warming up to us. I tried hard to make you see that we were worthy of being your teammates. Honestly, that was my goal from the day our team was formed" he said. Hinata's eyes finally overflowed, sending tears dripping down her face.

"I was foolish enough to think you weren't. I was wrong. Completely and utterly" she said tearfully. The blonde reached up and wiped a tear from her face, causing her to clench her jaw to prevent sobbing.

"I didn't think anybody would cry for me when I died. Thank you for that, Hinata. Thank you _so much..._" the blonde said gratefully. The Hyuga heiress took hold of the hand he had used to wipe away her tears with her free hand and squeezed it as she sobbed.

"Please, save your strength. Stop talking, Uzumaki-san" she pleaded. Naruto sighed heavily as his eyes dulled slightly.

"I know this may not mean much coming from me, but I've always thought you were really pretty. In a regal sort of way" he said. Hinata broke down further at his words.

"Stop being so kind to me, Uzumaki-san. I treated you as though you were trash. I don't deserve to be complimented. I should be the one bleeding on the ground, not you" she cried. The dying genin smiled sadly.

"You say it like you were the only one, Hinata. I've dealt with worse. I've had my belongings stolen, my home vandalized, and I've been beaten to pieces in the middle of the street. You're an angel compared to the people I deal with day in and day out. Don't be so hard on yourself" he said reassuringly. The Hyuga girl girl gathered enough composure to ask one simple question that had been burning in her mind.

"Why? What did you do to deserve such persecution?" she asked shakily. Naruto used the last of his strength to lift up his shirt, revealing the seal Hinata had seen with her Byakugan.

"Because I'm a monster" he said simply. The light then left his eyes completely, prompting his body to go limp in Hinata's arms. The Hyuga heiress shook him gently in a desperate, feeble attempt to wake him.

"Uzumaki-san? Stay with me please. Tell me what you meant by what you just said" she begged quietly. When he didn't respond, she shook him harder.

"Wake up, Uzumaki-san. Please, don't go to sleep. Damn it, answer me when I'm talking to you!" she sobbed. Instead of shaking him again, she hugged his body tightly and buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"Who do you think you are? Just as I was starting to care about you, you die and leave me alone again. Why? Don't my feelings mean anything to you?" she demanded through sobs. She then pulled her head from his neck and gazed at his tranquil, lifeless face. Hinata placed a soft kiss on his forehead and pulled his head into her chest.

"_Naruto…_" she whimpered, her tear ducts exhausted and her throat raw from the weeping. She gently laid his body down and silently paid her respects before turning to face the mirrors, where Haku had watched the scene from.

"Come out, Haku-san. Your fight is with me now"

* * *

**A/N: This is officially the longest chapter I have ever written for any fic. Tell me what you all thought of the final scene in particular.**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	8. Do you understand?

**A/N: I know you've all been waiting for this one. I have been too, honestly. Let's get started, shall we?**

**Time for chapter 8**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Shikamaru felt his blood run cold as Hinata stood up from Naruto's body. He was dead. There was no doubt about it now. He had given up his life to save hers. A valiant, noble effort. One that deserved to be remembered.

"Wow. I really didn't expect her to c_ry_ over him. Not like that, at least" Tazuna, who was standing behind the shadow user, said. Shikamaru clenched his jaw and lowered his eyes to the ground as he paid his respects to his slain comrade.

"She always treated him like garbage. She never beat him up or any thing like that, but she said some _cutting_ things to him. I think she always felt guilty after saying them, though. It was pretty clear that she was starting to warm up to him a little during this mission. I can't imagine the guilt. Somebody you've used as a doormat for the entire time you've known them throwing themselves right into their own death for your sake. How is a person supposed to react to that?" he said quietly. The bridge builder tapped him on the shoulder, prompting him to look up at the dome of ice.

Hinata was back on her feet, and she was fighting. She was dodging many more of the needles than she had been able to previously, and she had connected on the air-born Hunter several times. Despite the increased success, the pace at which she was being forced to attack and defend was unsustainable.

"Go help her. I'll be fine on my own" Tazuna said. The Nara opened his mouth to protest, but shut it again and handed the old man a kunai. He then sprinted off towards the frozen mirrors. Once he reached the edge of the structure, he stopped. There would be no point in entering the fray. He was much slower than Hinata, who was clearly the more sluggish of the combatants within the mirrors.

'What the hell am I supposed to do? I'm useless against that kind of speed. Hinata's eyes are what's keeping her alive, and I don't have a dojutsu. I'll be torn to ribbons if I go inside' he thought frantically. Just as panic began to settle in, Shikamaru noticed something. Every time Haku flew across the space within the dome, his shadow became visible for a split-second. It was barely detectable, but it was definitely there.

'I can work with that' the shadow user thought to himself. He then made the hand seal for his shadow possession jutsu. His timing would need to be perfect. He would likely only one or two chances before the Hunter caught on to his tactic. Shikamaru focused his vision and waited for Haku to come flying out of his mirrors. Once he did, the lazy genin launched his shadow into the dome of mirrors, missing the Hunter's shadow my inches. Shikamaru growled in frustration.

'I need to send it out a few seconds early, or I'll miss by those same inches again' he thought to himself. As he waited for Haku's shadow to appear once more, Hinata glanced over her shoulder and spotted him. The shadow user put a finger to his lips. The Hyuga girl nodded and returned her attention to the Hunter. After another moment, Shikamaru sent out his shadow. Just as he had predicted, Haku came flying out of his mirrors a second later. Their shadows crossed one another, allowing the Nara to take control of his body and immobilize him.

The Hunter crashed to the ground, paralyzed by the lazy genin's jutsu. Hinata immediately rushed forward and struck Haku with a flurry of palm strikes. The Hunter was launched backwards into one of his mirrors. Despite the impact, the frozen slab did not crack or move. Haku growled and forced his way to his feet, resisting and overpowering Shikamaru's shadow possession all the while.

"I can't hold him, Hinata! Hit him again!" the Nara yelled. The Hyuga heiress charged forward to continue her assault, but was forced back by a flurry of needles thrown her way by the Hunter. Haku then broke free of Shikamaru's control entirely, sinking back into his mirrors once more. An absolute maelstrom of needles then came flying at Hinata from all directions, seemingly sealing her fate. Before the icy spears could make contact, they all melted away.

"What...h-how…?" Hinata stuttered as the needles melted into a large puddle of water at her feet. A powerful, burning wind then came rushing into her back, causing her to stumble forward. She glanced over her shoulder and gasped.

The super-heated wind was coming from Naruto, who was rising to his feet slowly. The Hyuga girl covered her mouth with her left hand as the previously lifeless genin stood up straight. The needles protruding from his body had melted away, leaving a multitude of small holes on his jacket. His eyes were glowing a blood red color and his pupils were slits. He slowly made his way past Hinata, stopping once he was between she and Haku. He glanced down at the terrified heiress, who had fallen to her rear end out of shock, and stared at her for several moments before returning his attention to the Hunter.

"You're going to die here, Haku"

* * *

Kakashi flinched as a wave of extreme heat came rushing through the battlefield. It had come from the dome of frozen mirrors. He glanced to his left to better identify the cause of the whirlwind. What he saw was disturbing, to say the least. Naruto was back on his feet, and he appeared to be glowing with a red substance that resembled chakra.

'His seal broke. Not good' the jonin thought to himself nervously. He then looked to Zabuza, who was also confounded by the shocking turn of events.

"Your partner is going to die. He's awakened something he has no way to deal with" he said. The mist ninja scowled and charged forward, slamming his blade into Kakashi's pair of kunai. Sparks flew in all directions as the shinobi strained against one another.

"Even if you're right, that brat still can't stand up to me. Once I've killed you, he's next" he replied darkly. The pair separated and leapt backwards, both taking a deep breath. Zabuza then began to weave hand seals, which Kakashi mimicked perfectly.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" they yelled simultaneously. The water that had previously been mist pooled around the shinobi and formed itself into a pair of dragons. The elemental beasts then slammed into one another, sending a shower of freezing cold water in all directions. Kakashi used the spray of moisture as an entrance into close range, rushing across the bridge and slamming a punch into the left side of Zabuza's jaw, sending him staggering backwards.

Capitalizing on the moment of weakness from his opponent, the silver haired ninja weaved another series of hand seals and reared his head back.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" he yelled, launching a large sphere of searing flames into the mist ninja. The blast burst into a swath of flames on contact. The fire causing much of the moisture on the bridge to evaporate, creating a cloud of steam. Once the obstructions cleared away, Zabuza became visible once more. He had blocked the jutsu with his arms, which were now badly burned.

"Fire style? Not the smartest move against a water stylist. That hurt like hell, I'll give you that, but you're going to need a whole lot more than that to kill me" Zabuza said. Kakashi gritted his teeth and glanced back over to the ice dome.

'You'd better not lose it, Naruto. I don't think I'll have enough left in the tank to fight you after this fight is over'

* * *

Hinata struggled to control her heart rate as Naruto stared down Haku. The tension in the air was palpable, but even more jarring than the sheer pressure being exerted by the blonde was the strangeness of the situation itself. Naruto had clearly died, or at least fallen into a fatal coma, and yet he stood on his feet, ready to fight.

'Is this what he meant when he called himself a monster?' Hinata wondered to herself as Naruto shifted his feet. After another moment of unbearable silence, the resurrected genin vanished from sight. He reappeared ten feet in the air, with a fist planted on the left side of Haku's jaw. The strike sent the Hunter crashing into a mirror of ice, which shattered on impact. Haku went tumbling across the bridge, only managing to stop himself at the edge of the bridge.

'What incredible speed and power. He timed Haku-san's speed and shattered one of the mirrors with nothing more than the impact of a punch' the Hyuga heiress thought to herself with her mouth agape. Naruto then roared viciously and sprinted after the Hunter. The Hyuga heiress struggled to her feet and attempted to steady her shaking hands to no avail.

'What on earth is going on? Five minutes ago, he couldn't even touch him, and now he's battering him pillar to post. Just what are you, Uzumaki-san?' she wondered to herself. She slowly walked closer to the one sided fight that was being waged across the bridge, her steps becoming more and more unsteady as she approached. After a moment or two of shaky walking, she stopped and took several deep breaths. She had halted roughly twenty feet from the site of the battle.

She now had a clear view of the fight and all that was happening within it. It was clear that Haku had nothing for Naruto. A simple glance at the look on his face, which was now exposed due to his mask having been knocked off, could have told even the most foolish man as much. Hinata flinched as the blonde floored the Hunter with a brutal, right handed punch to the left side of his jaw, knocking one of his teeth loose.

'He isn't getting up from that. This fight is over' Hinata thought to herself as Naruto stood over his fallen foe. The enraged seized Haku by the front of his shirt and lifted him from the ground. He bared his teeth and reared back his free left hand. It was at that moment that Hinata realized that Naruto had a set of serrated fangs and claws. The Hyuga girl turned her gaze away from the scene, preferring not to witness what appeared to be an inevitable decapitation. To her surprise, no tearing sound came.

Hinata turned her head back towards Naruto, who had set Haku back down on the ground. The Hunter appeared to be just as shocked as the Hyuga girl. The blonde then punched Haku in the stomach, crumpling him to his knees.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Haku. I haven't forgiven you for what you did to me, or Hinata for that matter, but I'm going to let you live. Try anything funny, though, and I'll rip out your throat with my teeth" Naruto said threateningly. The hunter lowered his eyes to the ground and nodded. The blonde then glanced over his shoulder and spotted Hinata, who was staring at him wide-eyed.

"Do you get it now?" he asked. Despite the vagueness of his question, the meaning of it was clear. The Hyuga heiress opened her mouth, but no words came. After several more failed attempts to speak, Hinata finally forced words out of her mouth.

"No, I don't. I don't understand what I'm looking at. What _is _this? What kind of awful transformation is this? Where did Naruto Uzumaki go? The boy I knew was _not_ this violent. The boy who _died_ for my sake is gone. Who are _you_?" she demanded. Naruto looked at his clawed hands and sighed, causing the red chakra to fade away. His nails returned to a normal length, and his fangs retracted.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Whether you like it or not, what you just saw was me. Probably the worst version of me, but still me" he replied. The Hyuga girl stared at him, a whirlwind of emotions ravaging her as she attempted to process.

"Is this why you were shunned by the villagers? Is this why you never had a family?" she asked quietly. The blonde gave her a pained smile.

"Yup. Most of them haven't seen what you just saw. in fact, you're only the second person to have seen that side of me, but they're still appalled by me" he said. Before Hinata could respond, the sound of crackling electricity ripped through the area. Naruto, Hinata, and Haku all looked to their left. Zabuza was being held in place by a pack on Ninken, and Kakashi was charging what appeared to be a Lightning-Style Jutsu.

"What an unbelievable chakra" Hinata said in a shocked tone. The distant jonin then lowered his stance and prepared to make a charge towards the mist ninja. Haku, who had been seemingly battered to the point of being crippled, then disappeared from sight. He reappeared between Zabuza and Kakashi. His intervention had prevented the mist ninja from being impaled by the electrical jutsu, but it had also resulted in Haku himself being stabbed.

"Why the hell would he do that? Kakashi-sensei is just going to kill Zabuza anyways" Naruto wondered out loud. Rather than answering verbally, Hinata motioned for the blonde to follow her to the site of their teacher's battle with Zabuza. Naruto nodded and jogged after his teammate towards the jonin. As they ran, the Hyuga girl glanced over her shoulder at him.

"Once this is finished, you and I are going to have a talk. You have some explaining to do"

* * *

Kakashi's eyes widened as he pulled his arm from Haku's abdomen. The boy had thrown himself in front of his master in a final effort to save his life, and it would likely cost him his own. As the jonin's electrically charged arm was removed from his chest, the Hunter fell to his knees and coughed up a sizeable amount of blood.

"What the hell are you doing here, Haku? Didn't I tell you to deal with those brats?" Zabuza demanded, his voice more emotional than it ever had been previously. The critically injured Hunter look to his master and gave him a pained smile.

"I was beaten, Zabuza-sama. Naruto-san unleashed an awful power. Something I had no way of defeating. I'm sorry for failing you…" he said through a fit of painful coughs. The mist ninja stared down at his dying subordinate and sighed.

"I suppose we both lost today, Haku" he admitted. Haku opened his mouth to speak, but hacked up blood instead. After several more moments of painful convulsions, the boy stopped moving. Kakashi knelt down and searched for a pulse, but found none.

"He's gone. I'm honestly amazed that he managed to stay alive long enough to speak at all" he said. Zabuza struggled against the jonin's ninken for a moment before looking to the silver haired ninja.

"Would you mind letting me go? I need to pay my respects" he said. Kakashi remained silent for a moment before calling off his dogs and unsummoning them. The mist ninja knelt down in front of Haku and closed his still-open eyes. He then whispered a word or two before standing up and turning to Kakashi.

"If you'd like to kill me, go right ahead. I'm exhausted, and you have numbers on your side. I'm a dead man walking" he said. As the jonin was about to respond, the roar of a mob sounded off in the distance. The entire group of ninja all glanced to their right and spotted an oncoming hoard of hooligans. They were being lead by a short man with a cane who was wearing sunglasses. Zabuza growled to himself.

"That's your cue to leave. Gato, the man that hired me, is here, and he brought friends. I'll deal with these pathetic wretches" he said to Kakashi. The silver haired ninja raised an eyebrow.

"Why should I trust you?" he asked. The mist ninja chuckled and picked up his enormous sword.

"You shouldn't, but if you need a reason, it's because I have a personal vendetta against that man. He's always been stingy about paying his employees, myself included. I'm going to take that money in blood" he said with a dark grin. Kakashi hesitated for a moment before looking to Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru, who had silently watched the entire scene unfold from a safe distance.

"Get going, you three! I'll catch up with you!" he ordered. The children nodded and took off in the opposite direction. Zabuza gave the jonin a strange look as they prepared to fight off the hoard.

"Why are you staying here? Why are you helping me?" he asked skeptically. Kakashi drew another pair of kunai and assumed a stance.

"I've never much cared for cheapskates myself" he replied simply. The mist ninja laughed out loud and pointed his blade towards the oncoming mob.

"Great minds think alike, I suppose"

* * *

Naruto chewed his lip absently as he leaned against a tree. It had been an exceptionally long day, and not a particularly good one. Hinata's reaction to finally having seen his demonic power had been far from ideal, and he had nearly lost his mind during his fit of rage. On top of that, he had also more or less died. Quite a day indeed. As he reviewed the day in his mind, a twig snapped several feet from him. He glanced up and saw Hinata staring down at him.

"Did you really think running out into the forest would stop me from finding you, Uzumaki-san?" she asked, sounding somewhat irritated. The blonde sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Can you really blame me for wanting to be alone right now?" he replied as he stood to his feet. The Hyuga girl stepped closer to him and frowned.

"I don't mean to be rude, but I would rather skip all of this emotional drabble. I have questions, and you have answers" she said bluntly. Naruto chuckled.

"And you chew me out for _my_ manners. Go right ahead. Ask me questions. Just a warning, I don't think you'll like the answers you'll get" he said. Hinata nodded and took a deep breath.

"First of all, what on earth was that ungodly power you unleashed against Haku-san?" she asked. The blonde lifted up his shirt and pointed to the seal on his stomach.

"Are you aware of what a 'jinchuuriki' is, Hinata?" he asked. The Hyuga heiress' eyes widened, but she nodded.

"I am, yes. A person who harbors one or several ethereal beings. Usually demons" she said. Naruto pointed to himself and gave her a forced smile.

"That's what I am. I'm the jinchuuriki of the nine-tailed fox" he said. Hinata stared at him for several moments before speaking once more.

"So, that's why the villagers repeatedly called you things such as 'demon brat' or 'devil fox'. As shocking as it is, that information does tie several things together. Let me guess, your birthday is October 10th?" she asked. The excitable genin nodded.

"Yup. The same day the fox attacked Konoha thirteen years ago. I don't know _why_ the fox was sealed in me, but I know that it had to have happened on the day I was born" he said. The Hyuga heiress studied him for a moment.

"Alright, I have one other question. Are you capable of accessing the fox's power at will?" she asked. Naruto shook his head.

"No. Only when I'm in a state of extreme anger. It's only happened one other time, but that's a whole different story" he replied. Hinata sighed.

"I'll be honest with you, Uzumaki-san. I really don't know how to feel about what I saw today. What you did to Haku-san was quite difficult to watch, even if he was my enemy. You became somebody other than yourself. For a brief few minutes, you were no longer Naruto Uzumaki, and that was quite unsettling to see" she said. The blonde snorted.

"That's a new tune from you. I thought I wasn't worth your time" he said. The Hyuga girl, to his surprise, smiled at this.

"My opinion of you has changed for the better, from your perspective, at least. I've actually come to enjoy speaking with you, if only slightly. And, as much as it pains me to admit it, you can be quite funny on occasion" she said. Naruto stared at her wide-eyed.

"Oh, uh...thank...you?" he stuttered, not knowing how to react to the sudden surge of positive reinforcement from his usually icey teammate. The Hyuga heiress chuckled at his reaction.

"My, my. I didn't know it was possible to put you at a loss for words. Perhaps I should be nicer to you from now on. It would certainly save me some headaches" she said humorously. After several moments of silence, Hinata turned to leave. She walked a few steps before turning around again and making her way to Naruto. To the blonde's shock, she pulled him into a tight embrace, positioning her mouth by his ear.

"Thank you for saving my life. You showed me the ultimate form of mercy when I didn't deserve it. I'll repay you for that someday, I promise" she whispered. Naruto opened his mouth to respond, but was hushed by the Hyuga girl.

"I know what you're about to ask me, Uzumaki-san, and you don't need to worry. I don't consider you to be subhuman simply due to your status as a Jinchuuriki. The boy who spoke to me as he lay dying in my arms was human. So _heartbreakingly _human. You're worth more than you think. All you need to do is believe it yourself" she said. She then separated herself from him and smiled.

"Oh, and thank you for calling me pretty" she said, obviously pleased by the compliment. She then turned around and began to walk back towards Tazuna's house. Before she could fully leave the blonde's line of sight, he called out to her.

"You could call me by my first name, if you want" he said. Hinata glanced over her shoulder and smiled almost imperceptibly.

"Goodnight, Naruto-san"

* * *

**A/N: That was a nice little scene. Don't worry, that sweetness will be a rarity with Hinata. She's still just as cold as she was before.**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	9. Gratitude

**A/N: This fic just hit 100 reviews, 150 favs, and 270 follows! Thank you all for the support. I really appreciate all the feedback. Keep it up, because it really helps me.**

**Time for chapter 9**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto yawned as he sat up in bed. It was morning, and he had not been required to wake up early for the first time in quite awhile. He and the rest of Team Seven had arrived home from their mission in the Land of Waves the previous night. They had received their compensation, which had been increased substantially due to the A-Ranked nature of the originally C-Ranked assignment. After the pay had been administered, all four members had rushed home. They had all been completely and utterly exhausted by the experience, and they had desperately needed rest.

'At least Kakashi-sensei gave us the day off. I think it was more for himself than us, honestly' the blonde thought to himself as he climbed out of bed and headed into his modest kitchen. He mindlessly placed a cup of instant ramen into his microwave and sat down at his dining table to wait. As he sat in impatient silence, his mind wandered back to the Land of Waves. The mission had been a success overall, with Tazuna being safely returned to his home country without injury, building blueprints in hand. Zabuza Momochi had apparently survived the ordeal as well according to Kakashi.

Apparently, the mist ninja had bolted once he and the jonin had mowed through Gato's men. Not overly shocking, but still somewhat surprising to the Jinchuuriki. The blonde's thoughts then traveled back to his and Hinata's battle against Haku, in which he had been put into a near-fatal coma for several minutes. The sensation of being so close to the doors of death was strangely unsettling to Naruto despite his relative misery.

'Well, I guess that puts a nail in that coffin' the genin thought to himself, an image of a noose finally being pushed from his mind entirely. The other major occurrence within the battle with the Hunter was Hinata and Shikamaru's first sighting of the Jinchuuriki's demonic chakra. Their reactions had been quite unconventional.

'Shikamaru blew it off and told me his mother was scarier, and Hinata got all touchy-feely for some reason. Not that I mind either reaction. They both made me feel nice' Naruto thought to himself with a smile. As he became more and more lost in his thoughts, he was rudely interrupted by the ringing of his microwave, which had completed its task of heating his ramen. He extracted his breakfast from the heating machine and blew on it several times. He then glanced up at the clock for the first time since awakening.

'Only six forty-five? I guess I've got an internal clock. I figured it would take more than a week to develop' Naruto thought to himself as he ate his noodles. After several minutes of alternating between eating his food and sipping cold water, a knock came at the Jinchuuriki's door. Naruto sighed and stood up from his seat. He made his way to the entrance of his dwelling and opened the door.

"Good morning, Naruto-san" Hinata, who was standing at his doorstep. She, unlike Naruto, was already showered and dressed. She looked as well-groomed as always.

'Polished and pristine at seven in the morning. Figures' the blonde thought to himself as the Hyuga girl stared at him, patiently waiting for a response from the Jinchuuriki.

" 'morning, Hinata. Not to be rude, but why are you here? It's kind of early" the unshowered genin asked skeptically. Hinata pointed to the family crest on the side of her shirt.

"My father has requested your presence. I'm here to retrieve you" she explained. Naruto nodded and sighed. He had been expecting such a summoning.

"Let me guess, this is about our mission?" he asked. The Hyuga heiress nodded and brushed a lock of hair behind one of her ears.

"Most likely. I was questioned as to the details of our mission and what happened. I gave as favorable an account of your sacrifice and subsequent mauling of Haku-san as I could" she said. The Jinchuuriki rubbed his eyes and stretched.

"Thank you, I guess. Your dad seemed like a decent guy too me, honestly. Then again, maybe he was just being nice to get me to agree to being your bodyguard" he said tiredly. The Hyuga girl shook her head.

"I doubt that. My father is a very straightforward and cordial man. He doesn't 'suck up' to people, as they say. Although, I am slightly surprised that he extended that cordiality to _you_. Most of the clan heads view you as a nuisance" she said. The moment the final sentence left her mouth, a look of guilt flashed across her face.

"Forgive me for my rudeness" she said quietly, bowing politely. Naruto burst out laughing at the gesture, earning a confused glare from his teammate.

"_What_ is so funny, Naruto-san?" she asked. The blonde slowly calmed himself down and allowed his laughter to subside. Once he did, he gave the girl a grin.

"You bowing to me is literally the last thing I thought I would see this morning. You don't need to apologize to me, Hinata. You're not wrong. I kind of dug my own ditch with the other clan heads, so it's my fault they don't like me much" he said. The Hyuga heiress raised an eyebrow.

"What did you do? Nothing overtly damaging, I hope" she asked skeptically. Naruto chuckled as he recalled his ingenious practical jokes.

"I painted a clown face on every door of the Yamanaka Estate, emptied the pantries of the Akimichi clan, replaced the Nara clan's shogi boards with oil-slicked stone tablets, and I put catnip in the Inuzuka's dog food" he listed. Hinata sighed heavily and shook her head.

"Thievery, vandalization, and several counts of breaking and entering. I'm honestly impressed. You managed to commit three crimes and avoid arrest. I suppose the clan heads have every right to despise you. Tell me, why did you never target the Hyuga clan?" she asked curiously. The blonde chuckled.

"I'm a lot of things, but invisible isn't one of them. You guys have x-ray vision. Trying to prank you would be completely pointless. I'd just get a beating for my troubles" he said. The Hyuga heiress conceded a rare smile.

"It seems that a brain _does _lie within that dense skull of yours, Naruto-san. You have picked your battles well" she said humorously. The Jinchuuriki scowled at the remark, but quickly regained his composure.

"We should probably get going" he said. Hinata nodded and motioned for the blonde to follow her. Naruto gestured to his attire.

"I haven't even showered yet, and I'm still in pajamas. Could you let me get ready first?" he asked. The Hyuga girl nodded and turned back around.

"Make it quick. We don't have much time to waste" she said. The Jinchuuriki responded by rushing back into his apartment and closing the door. Hinata chuckled as he frantically made his way into his shower, an action that could be heard from his doorstep.

'His manners are improving. Not quickly, but baby steps are necessary'

* * *

Naruto whistled as he and Hinata entered the gates of the Hyuga Estate. Beyond the extravagant architecture, the sheer size of the property was jarring. It stretched for at least five square miles, and the vast majority of it was finely trimmed and well-kept.

'Even their landscaping is perfect. What don't these people polish?' the blonde wondered to himself as he was lead along by his teammate. As he looked around, he noticed the looks of confusion from Hinata's fellow clansmen.

'Must be pretty strange to see their future leader bringing the village loser into their home' he thought to himself as he and the Hyuga girl entered the main building. As they walked through the halls, the glares from the clan members became more and more disgusted.

"Ignore them. They have nothing to do with why you're here" Hinata ordered as she dragged him towards a lavish door. Once they reached it, the Hyuga heiress knocked three times and waited. After several moments, the door opened, revealing Hiashi Hyuga.

"Greetings, father. I have brought, Naruto-san. Just as you requested" Hinata said with a bow. The Hyuga clan head nodded and motioned for Naruto to enter the room, which appeared to be a study. To the Jinchuuriki's surprise, Hinata stayed put as he entered her father's study. Once he was inside, Hiashi closed the door and sat down behind his desk.

"Welcome, Uzumaki-san. I see that you're all in one piece. Rather impressive given the nature of your _first_ out-of-village assignment. Quite a wild scenario, really" he said. Naruto nodded and sat down in a chair across from the man.

"I'm as surprised as you are. I was convinced I was going to die during most of the mission. Hell, I kind of _did_ at one point" he said. Hiashi chuckled to himself.

"What was it like? Dancing with death, I mean. I've always been fascinated by the concept, but I obviously have other obligations that keep me from...exploring" he asked. The blonde thought for a moment before answering.

"It was odd. I felt like I was waking up from a dream. Like my whole life had been a vivid hallucination. Before I could really understand what was happening, I woke back up again. Sorry if that wasn't too helpful" he explained. The Hyuga clan head nodded.

"Not a problem. Most people don't remember their near-death experiences especially well. What I've called you here to discuss is what happened after you woke up from your brush with death" he said. The Jinchuuriki immediately felt any comfort he had settled into fade away.

"I figured. I guess you want an explanation of how I beat the Hunter?" he asked quietly. To his surprise, Hiashi shook his head.

"I'm well aware of how you did it. Your status as the jailor of the Nine-Tailed Fox has been known to me since you were a small child. Uzumaki-san" he said. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" he asked skeptically. The Hyuga clan head activated his byakugan and pointed to the boy's abdomen.

"My clan helped create that seal on your stomach. I was aware that the fourth had sealed the beast within you immediately after the attack, so I kept an eye on you. You're childhood is quite well known to me" he explained. The genin raised an eyebrow.

"Since you already know about the fox, what do you want to talk about? I beat up the Hunter using its power, which I can't summon on my own, by the way" he asked. Hiashi smiled and took a sip from a cup of water sitting on his desk.

"I would like to thank you for saving my daughter's life. You willingly paid the ultimate price for her sake, even though she had been less than kind to you previously. On top of that, you quite literally rose from the dead to prevent her death a second time. You thoroughly surpassed my expectations. And Hinata's, from the sounds of it" he said. Naruto bowed awkwardly.

"No problem. I just did what you asked me to. Besides, I really didn't want her to die. She can be a little..._icey_ sometimes, scratch that, all the time, but she didn't deserve to die for it. Also, what do you mean when you say I surpassed _her_ expectations?" he asked curiously. The Hyuga clan head chuckled.

"She called you by your first name, Uzumaki-san. In the Hyuga clan, using a person's first name is a sign of great respect and familiarity. She also appeared to be slightly less outwardly disgusted by your presence than she has been previously" he explained. The genin grinned.

"Only slightly. Not much progress, but still a step forward" he joked. Hiashi chuckled and glanced up at the clock that hung on the left-side wall of the study.

"Earning her approval won't be easy, I can assure you, but I think you'll find that it's well worth the pain" he said. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. The Hyuga clan head responded by motioning him away with a wave of his hand, a silent order that the blonde immediately followed, exiting the study briskly. Hiashi smiled as he listened to his daughter question the Jinchuuriki on the other side of the door.

'Perhaps I said too much. Oh well. I think my prediction will come to pass. I'm sure of it now'

* * *

"For the last time, I was polite and proper. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

Naruto groaned. Hinata, who had been bombarding the Jinchuuriki with questions for the past five minutes, sighed and rubbed her temples.

"I'm simply making sure. Any insolence on your end could cost me dinner. I would rather not go hungry, Naruto-san" she said. The blonde frowned and poked her in the stomach, eliciting an uncharacteristic squeak from the Hyuga heiress.

"Are you sure you aren't starving already? You have _no_ fat on you" he said. Hinata turned bright red and scowled at the floor.

"I diet in order to keep my weight low. Mobility is the core of my taijutsu, so I must be lightweight and flexible" she explained, obviously embarrassed to reveal such information. Naruto frowned at this.

"You should still eat. Come with me. You're going to eat some ramen" he said. The Hyuga girl turned her glare from the floor to the Jinchuuriki.

"I will do no such thing" she said stubbornly. Her teammate responded by pulling out his wallet.

"Come on, we don't have all day. I'll pay" he said, turning around and making his way down the hallway as he spoke. Hinata watched him walk away for several moments before finally snapping and jogging after him.

"Fine. Just this once, I'll humor you. This will _not_ be the norm, so don't get your hopes up" she said haughtily as she caught up with her teammate. Naruto glanced at her and chuckled.

"I'm only doing this to make sure you don't die of hunger. Even you deserve to eat something with actual flavor every once in a while. Who knows? Maybe you'll even _enjoy_ yourself" he said. The Hyuga heiress glared at him out of the corner of her eye for a moment before sighing and turning her gaze to the approaching gates of the Hyuga estate.

"We'll see"

* * *

**A/N: Not-Asshole Hiashi is genuinely fun to write. Not sure why. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Tell me what you thought of it :)**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	10. A Caring Hypocrite

**A/N: I had time today, so I've decided to update on consecutive days for once. Thought you would all appreciate that.**

**Time for chapter 10**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Shikamaru smirked as he moved his game piece. For the fifth consecutive time, he had defeated Kakashi in shogi. Despite the string of victories, none of them had been as effortless as the Nara had expected them to be. For a man who claimed to have only played shogi three times previously, the jonin was quite a skilled strategist. The silver haired ninja threw up his hands in a motion of surrender.

"That's all I've got. You're ridiculously good at this game. Iruka told me that you were smarter than you looked. I didn't believe him at first, but it seems like he was right" he said. The shadow user shrugged and began to put away the gameboard.

"I'm just more practiced than you are. For a guy who apparently never plays, you made that tough as hell for me" he said as he gathered the pieces and dumped them into a small bag. He then folded up the board itself and tucked it away in his carry case. After several moments of silence, Kakashi motioned to the window of the cafe they were sitting in, prompting Shikamaru to look through the glass.

"That's surprising. She doesn't look all that pleased, but she isn't throwing up either" the Nara said as he watched Naruto and Hinata walk down the streets of Konoha, both carrying a cup of take out ramen. Kakashi watched his students converse and eat their food for several more moments before turning back to Shikamaru.

"As odd as their dynamic is, I'm glad Hinata hasn't decided to shun him for his status as a Jinchuuriki. Naruto needs a friend. Especially a female one" he said. The Nara raised an eyebrow.

"What difference does it make that she's a chick? Women kind of suck. In my experience, at least" he asked skeptically. The silver haired ninja chuckled at the comment.

"Knowing your family's taste in women, I'm not surprised you think that. As for why it makes a difference, it's because women have a way with comfort. They can make you feel worthwhile" he said. The shadow user glanced back out the window, where he saw Hinata scolding Naruto for an unknown sin he had apparently committed. Likely something to do with his still-limited manners.

"Are you _sure_ she's making him feel worthwhile? Looks to me like she's crushing up his confidence and scattering it on the ground like salt in the winter" he said. Kakashi scratched the back of his head as he watched Naruto quietly slurp his noodles while being lectured.

"Well, she can be nice _sometimes_, which is better than nothing" he said. They watched the pair for another moment before turning their attention away from the window.

"I heard that the chunin exams were pushed back a month. Why is that?" Shikamaru asked, changing the subject. Kakashi sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Well, the Raikage, who was scheduled to attend this year's exam was just hit with a charge for violation of Human Rights. Kumogakure has been disqualified from the testing. Under most circumstances, the exam wouldn't be forced to change dates due a withdrawal, but Kumo was covering a good portion of the event costs, so we need extra time to prepare" he explained. The shadow user furrowed his eyebrows.

"Violation of Human Rights? What did he do?" he asked. The jonin scowled as he recalled the meeting that had been held earlier that week by Hiruzen.

"He was taking children from various Kumo clans and subjecting them to horrific testing. We don't know _why_ exactly, but it doesn't matter. He'll be behind bars soon enough" he said in a disgusted tone. Shikamaru shuddered.

"What kind of sicko would do that? To a bunch of _kids_. Demented asshole" he muttered. Kakashi nodded in agreement.

"Speaking of the exams, I've been thinking about putting in a recommendation for you three. Given that you have an extra month to prepare now, I don't think it would be a terrible idea" he said. The lazy genin thought for a moment.

"Not a terrible idea, but I kind of doubt that any of us can really compete with any of the more experienced genin. Especially me" he said. The jonin shook his head.

"I disagree. Hinata would almost certainly tool quite a few of the other genin, and if Naruto were to awaken the power he used against Haku, he would maul most chunin. You're probably capable of finding a way around a good portion of the others too. I like Team Seven's chances" he said. Shikamaru shrugged and stood up from his chair.

"Your guess is as good as mine, I guess. I'm going home for the day. I'll see you around" he said, walking out of the cafe as he spoke. Kakashi watched his student leave and ordered himself a cup of tea.

'I've got myself a weird group of kids. A Jinchuuriki, a clan heiress, and the sharpest procrastinator I've ever met. Not a bad team at all'

* * *

Hinata silently weaved around another corner as she quietly trailed Naruto through the streets of Konoha. It was night, and the sky was pitch dark. For the second time, the Hyuga heiress had decided to follow her teammate home. After begrudgingly accompanying the blonde to an early lunch, Hinata had split from him and completed her predetermined list of chores. From cleaning the kitchen to completing basic taijutsu drills, she had kept herself busy for most of the day.

As generally productive as the day had been, it had also been quite dull and mundane, with very little interesting happening. Even Naruto's conversation with her father had not been particularly eventful according to either participant.

'What does it say about me that I honestly prefer days on which I have missions?' Hinata wondered to herself as she watched Naruto slowly trek along. Her reasoning for more or less stalking her teammate was much less clearly defined this time around than it had been the first time. The Hyuga girl had simply felt compelled to follow him when she had spotted him walking past the gates of her home at sunset.

'I feel so...creepy. Why am I doing this? This is no more exciting than any else I did today' Hinata thought to herself. Then, as if in scorn of her view of the walk as being boring, something interesting happened. Naruto stopped walking, seemingly noticing something to his left. Out of curiosity, Hinata quietly glanced left as well, spotting a small group of men approaching. They all appeared to be a bit on the old side, with the youngest-looking man appearing to be no less aged than forty years. They slowly made their way to the blonde, stoppy roughly ten feet from him.

Naruto then began to converse with the men. He seemed to be somewhat familiar with them, as he appeared to be unsurprised by their arrival. As the conversation wore on, the man slowly spread themselves out around the Jinchuuriki. It was then that the Hyuga heiress noticed an empty sake bottle in the hand of one of the men. Her blood ran cold as Naruto was slowly boxed in. The blonde appeared to sigh to himself as his unwanted company closed in on him more and more.

'What is he doing? Why isn't he moving?' Hinata thought frantically. One of them men then attempted to snatch Naruto's wallet from his right hand, a movement the Jinchuuriki easily saw coming and adjusted his positioning to diffuse. He was then grabbed from behind by another man. Once again, Naruto defended himself, shucking the villager from his back and backing up. After several more similar sequences, the man who appeared to be the ringleader hit Naruto over the head with his empty sake bottle. The Hyuga girl covered her mouth in horror as the blonde dropped to his knees.

What happened next was all too predictable. Naruto was beaten until he gave up his wallet. Once he allowed his billfold to be taken, the men left, leaving him battered on the street. The Hyuga heiress watched with bated breath as Naruto climbed back to his feet. His face was streaked with blood and his ribs were clearly bothering him. He stood silently for several moments before spitting a bit of blood out of his mouth and continuing his walk home. Hinata's self control finally eroded away. She sprinted out from behind the corner she had been using as a hiding place. Her rapid footsteps alerted the Jinchuuriki, who turned around to face her.

"Naruto-san! Are you-" Hinata began, stopping when she noticed the look on Naruto's face. He looked like the absolute last he wanted was to be questioned as to his physical or mental state.

"What are you doing here, Hinata?" he asked quietly. The Hyuga heiress struggled for an answer for several moments before the blonde sighed heavily.

"You followed me again, didn't you?" he asked tiredly. Hinata nodded, embarrassed to admit that she had been trailing him, but knowing that lying was pointless.

"Yes, I did. I...was curious as to why you were out walking so late at night, so I decided to follow you" she admitted. Naruto studied her for a moment before nodding and turning back around.

"Kind of weird, but I guess that makes some sense. I've got to go get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow, Hinata" he said, waving goodbye as he walked away. Surprising even herself, the Hyuga girl rushed after him and spun him around by his shoulders.

"Why didn't you fight back? I know for a fact that you could have easily disarmed those men and gone about your night. Why would you willingly take a beating?" she demanded, a mix of begrudging concern and genuine frustration permeating her voice. The blonde sighed,

"Isn't it obvious? If I even touch these people, I'll end up in jail. Even if the Hokage likes me, the council doesn't, and they would do everything they could to make sure I suffered" he said. Hinata tightened her grip on his shoulders.

"It sounds to me like you're giving up. Are you just going to be their doormat for the rest of your life?" she asked. In a rare moment of anger, Naruto seized her wrists and removed her hands from his shoulders.

"You don't _get it_. I don't get the benefit of the doubt. I _have_ to be submissive. I can't afford to fight back any more than I have to. I'd be dead by now if I did. I have no witnesses, no family to back me up, and no money to _buy_ any of those things" he snapped, pain and frustration visible in his eyes. The Hyuga girl flinched at his tone and the close proximity of their faces.

"Just because I told you a little bit about what happens to me doesn't mean you have the right to judge me or my decisions. What you just saw isn't all that bad, honestly. A cut and some bruised ribs are pretty tame. Go home, Hinata. I'd rather not have you seeing me all beat up anyways" he said. Hinata, to his surprise, refused to move.

"No, I won't. You're going to explain all of this to me. Where, when, and how often this kind of thing happens. I can _help_ you" she said. Naruto snorted.

"Let me ask you this then. If you're so concerned, why didn't you even _try_ to help me while they were beating me up? Why did you just watch?" he asked. The Hyuga heiress felt her stomach drop.

"I don't want your pity, Hinata. If you're just going to watch me suffer and then tell me how much it sucks for you to see, then leave me the hell alone. I'm trying really hard to be a good teammate for you. I'm even trying to be your friend, but you're making it _so hard_" the blonde said, his voice weakening at the final words. He lowered his eyes to the ground and balled his hands into fists.

"I froze. I wanted to help you. I really did. I followed you because...I was worried. I've been thinking about what you said in the Wave Country. That you had been beaten by the villagers. I wanted to make sure it didn't happen again. I failed you, and I failed myself. I'm sorry, Naruto-san. I really am" Hinata said shakily. The Jinchuuriki sighed heavily.

"You didn't fail anybody. Calm down. I've gotta say, it's a little strange that you're so open about being _worried_ about me when you treat me like shit during the day. It's not as bad as it was, but you're still anything but nice" he said. Hinata pursed her lips.

"I'm not very good at being nice to people" she said quietly. To her surprise, Naruto put a hand on her shoulder.

"I can tell. We all have problems. I suck at being polite, and you suck at being nice. How about this. I'll try to teach you how to actually be nice to people, and you teach me how to be polite. Agree to that, and I'll forget about this whole thing. Deal?" he said. The Hyuga heiress stared at him for several moments.

"I...suppose that sounds reasonable. Once again, I'm sorry for not helping you. I was shocked, and I-" before she could finish her sentence, Naruto pushed a finger to her lips.

"I don't want to hear it. Just try to be a bit more sensitive" he said. Hinata nodded and grabbed the blonde by the arm, pulling him along in the opposite direction.

"What are you doing? My apartment is the other way" the Jinchuuriki complained as he was yanked through the street.

"I'm going to patch you up. That cut on your forehead is deep, and it will likely require stitches. Think of it as my first act of kindness" Hinata replied. Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but shut it again.

"Thanks, Hinata" he muttered as he was lead through the gates of the Hyuga Estate. She glanced back at him and smiled slightly.

"You're welcome. Just a warning, we don't use anesthetic when we put in stitches" she said, sounding far too pleased with the idea of painfully threading his wounds. The Jinchuuriki began to sweat nervously.

"That doesn't sound very _nice_, Hinata"

"It's not very _polite_ to refuse your hostess' hospitality"

* * *

**A/N: Liked that chapter. Hope you all did too. Sorry for the late update, but I had to do some studying for finals.**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	11. Conceding Concern

**A/N: Sorry for the longer wait on this chapter. I hope you all like it. And if you don't, that's fine too. Happy reading**

**Time for chapter 11**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto wiped sweat from his brow as he ran along the perimeter of Konoha. Kakashi had sent he and the rest of his team out on what he called an 'endurance run', which meant that they would be running 8 laps around the village. The running itself was effortless, as stamina was and always had been a strength of the blonde. He had completed four laps, and he was well on his way to finishing his fifth. Hinata was roughly half a lap behind him, and Shikamaru was another half lap behind her. The distance between he and the rest of his team inadvertently provided the blonde with several minutes of alone time.

As he ran completed his fifth lap, the Jinchuuriki's thoughts wandered back to the previous night. The stitching on his forehead would be a steady reminder of what had transpired until the wound healed entirely. The night had been a long one, with a variety of powerful emotions taking hold of Naruto at different points. From his exhausted apathy towards the beating he had accepted to the indignant anger he had felt towards Hinata due to her complete lack of sensitivity. The beating, however, was what had stuck in his mind.

'Why didn't I just run away? I've done it before, so why was this time different? Why did I-' he wondered. Before he could finish the thought, another voice cut him off. One that Naruto had only heard one other time.

'**Because, deep down, you feel as though you deserved it'** a deep, ancient voice said. The blonde tensed at the voice within his mind, knowing all too well who he was now conversing with.

'What the hell do you want? I don't remember asking for your opinion' he snapped mentally. The demon chuckled and audibly shifted.

'**I don't need your permission to speak. Besides, you **_**did**_** ask a question. I simply told you the truth'** he replied. Naruto scowled and picked up the pace at which he was running.

'You don't know what you're talking about' he said defensively. The fox grinned within his mind, sensing a point of weakness to pry open.

**'Oh, I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. Every single morning, you ask yourself why you even bothered waking up. All of your mistakes, all of your insecurity-fueled practical jokes, it haunts you. You took that beating as a form of self-punishment. In the back of your mind, you were disappointed that they left you with nothing more than a deep gash and a bruised rib' **he said. The Jinchuuriki remained silent for several moments before responding.

'Just shut up and leave me alone. I would have stopped them if they had actually tried to kill me. They were drunk and angry, but they weren't out to kill' he snapped back at the demon. The fox slowly slid back into his subconscious. Before he disappeared completely, he spoke one last time.

**'I live within your mind. I can read your thoughts. Right now, the heiress dominates your subconscious. Never forget that she likely would have left you to die if those men had decided to try to kill you. Even if you had defended yourself, you still would have been fighting alone. She doesn't care about you, and she never will'** he said before fading away and leaving the blonde alone again. Naruto sighed and glanced around at his surroundings.

'Wait, is that...Kakashi-sensei?' he wondered as he recognized a figure roughly one hundred feet ahead of him. As it turned out, the blonde had increased his pace so drastically during his five-minute conversation with the fox that he had finished the final leg of his fifth lap in record time. This meant that he had three laps left to run.

'At least I'm more than halfway done' he thought to himself as he passed his teacher, who was sitting on a bench reading his orange-covered book. Once he had completely passed him, he caught sight of the Hyuga Estate up ahead. It was as large and imposing as always, with its extravagant gates showing strongly in the morning sunlight.

'Honestly, I'd rather live in an apartment. Easier to clean' Naruto thought as he jogged past the mansion. After another few minutes of running, he came across an interesting sight. Sasuke, who looked exhausted and irritated, was being gushed over by Sakura. Sitting several feet away from them was Shino, who was quietly observing the situation.

'As much as I don't like the guy, I do feel bad for him. Can't she just take a hint?' the genin thought as he made his way past his former classmates. The scene triggered another train of thought within his mind, which led to a question that he had never bothered asking himself.

'Why did I ever like Sakura to begin with? Was it because she was smart? I mean, she was well studied, but never all that quick, and she wasn't nice to me at all. She's kind of cute. I guess, but so are a lot of girls. Just a phase. We all have 'em' he thought to himself. As he trekked on, his thoughts remained on a similar topic, but regarding a different person, and with a slightly different tone.

'What do I think of Hinata, exactly? I mean, she's kind of a.._.bitch _most of the time, but every once in a while, she says something nice. She even cried when I 'died', so I guess that means she cares at least a little bit. She also brought me a rice ball this morning. I think it was her personal way of saying sorry. I don't even like rice' he thought to himself, chuckling as he recalled the scene from earlier in the day.

_"Come on, I could definitely out-wrestle Kiba" Naruto argued. Shikamaru shook his head and took a sip of water from his canteen._

_ "He doesn't play clean. He bites, scratches, and he'll pull your shirt over your head. He did that to me when we wrestled" he replied. The blonde frowned._

_ "That's not even wrestling at that point. That's a fist fight" he said. The shadow user shrugged and stretched._

_ "Exactly. He out-wrestled me, but I won the fight. I broke his nose and moved on with my day" he said matter-of-factly. Naruto burst out laughing at his words._

_ "Man, I didn't think you had a temper. Remind me not to piss you off" he said through his laughs. Shikamaru snorted._

_ "I don't have a temper. He said he wanted to wrestle, but then he bit me. So, it's only fair that I do something equally dickish to him" he said in an irritated tone. As the boys conversed, Hinata made her way into the training field, carrying a small object. She briskly walked to the boys and waited patiently for an opening in the conversation. After several moments, she tapped Naruto on the shoulder._

_ "Good morning, Naruto-san, Nara-san. I have brought you both breakfast" she said, presenting two objects to the boys with, with one hand outstretched towards each. _

_ "Why am I only getting a saltine cracker?" Shikamaru asked dejectedly. The Hyuga girl shrugged and pushed her left hand, which held a riceball, towards Naruto._

_ "Because I would assume that you actually ate breakfast. Naruto-san did not" she said. The Jinchuuriki frowned and stared at the riceball._

_ "How did you know that I didn't eat this morning?" he asked skeptically. Hinata fully turned to face him and practically shoved the food into his mouth._

_ "That is none of your concern. Now eat" she ordered. Naruto sighed and did as he was told, taking the riceball, which was practically in his mouth already, and began to chew on it. To his surprise, mostly due to his general dislike of rice products, it was perfectly edible. _

_ "How is it? I spent most of my morning making it" Hinata asked, practically staring a hole in his skull as she watched him eat, never blinking once as she did so. After finishing the riceball, Naruto wiped his mouth and gave her a thumbs up._

_ "Pretty good. I never took you for the cooking type. I'm pleasantly surprised" he said with a satisfied nod. Hinata, in a rare moment of girlishness, reddened slightly._

_ "I am quite capable culinarily. As was my mother" she said proudly. Naruto chuckled at her suddenly positive attitude, an action that was immediately noticed by the Hyuga heiress. She immediately shifted from her jovial mood to one of composure and coldness once more, giving the Jinchuuriki a curt nod and jogging off to stretch. Naruto sighed._

_ 'She's still got a lot of work to do. At least she's trying now'_

'She's kind of creepy when she's trying to be nice now that I think about it. Not quite in the hot way either. More in that stalker sort of way. Then again, she kind of _is_ one' the blonde thought to himself as he reached the last leg of his run. Naruto slowly decreased his pace to a walk as he reached Kakashi to conclude his eighth and final lap. After he had finished it, he glanced to his teacher.

"Is there anything else you want us to do today? We already sparred and drilled our basic jutsu" he asked tiredly. The jonin glanced up from his book and shook his head.

"You're free to go. Don't get used to short days like this, though. I have a meeting to attend, so you guys benefit. Be ready for something brutal tomorrow" he said before returning his attention to his book. Naruto nodded and walked off to go about his day. After several more minutes, Hinata finished her eighth lap as well, looking much more fatigued than her teammate had.

"How much did he beat me by?" she asked between deep breaths. Kakashi thought for a moment, doing several calculations in his head.

"Four minutes, fifteen seconds. Around a mile and a half in terms of distance. Before you get down on yourself, remember that Naruto, for all of his quirks, is genuinely one of the greatest stamina athletes we've had in Konoha for quite some time" he said. Hinata sighed and sat down on the bench next to her teacher.

"I know that it's been a little while now, but what did you think of Naruto's display of demonic power against the hunter ninja?" she asked abruptly. The silver haired ninja raised an eyebrow and shut his book.

"Well, it was less surprising to me than it was to you, because I already knew about the fox. In fact, the whole reason I was worried about continuing the mission once the ante was upped was because I knew that Naruto would likely be cornered at some point, and I wasn't confident in my ability to safely subdue him once he inevitably lost control" he admitted. The Hyuga girl considered his words for a moment.

"Actually, he was quite composed for somebody whose body was completely overrun with demonic chakra. He was violent and erratic, but there was still a person trapped within his rage. He systematically took Haku-san apart. He took away his ice mirrors immediately by shattering them, and he forced him to fight on _his_ terms. His taijutsu was still far from appealing to look at, but it was tailored to shut down Haku's" she said. The jonin chuckled and gave Shikamaru, who had just arrived, permission to leave. Once the shadow user was gone, he spoke.

"How did you feel about the transformation? What did you feel like looking at it up close?" he asked curiously. Hinata's face contorted with discomfort and a mix of several different negative emotions.

"It made me angry, and it greatly scared me. I felt as though I was looking at a cheap copy of Naruto-san, who had just given up his life to save mine. I desperately wanted to wake up from the nightmare that was reality. A boy whom I had treated like trash had gotten himself killed for my sake, and then returned from the dead seemingly fueled by the devil himself. It was a lot to process" she said honestly. Kakashi listened attentively and smiled underneath his mask.

"He really appreciated your concern. It was the first thing he said to me once the mission was over. For somebody like him, simple gestures of kind and caring go a long way. You clearly aren't all that good at being pleasant, but if you could try to treat him nicely, it would be greatly beneficial for this team" he said. The Hyuga heiress was immediately reminded of her conversation with the blonde the previous night.

"I'm already working on it. It may take a while though" she said. The jonin re-opened his book and leaned back on the bench.

"As long as you're trying, I don't care"

* * *

Hiashi rubbed his eyes as he rounded a corner in his massive estate. It was quite late, and most members of the clan were already asleep. He himself never abided by the tradition of being asleep by ten o'clock, meaning that his being conscious was not unusual at this hour. What was unusual, however, was the fact that Hinata was putting on her coat and strapping on her sandals,

"If you need food, we have some in the kitchen. There's no need to waste your time walking at this hour" Hiashi said to his daughter, who flinched and glanced over her shoulder at him,

"Hello, father. I'm not looking for food, actually. I have...something to attend to. I won't be long. I should be back in less than twenty minutes" she assured him. The clan head sighed and leaned against the wall.

"You're going to follow him home again, aren't you?" he asked, not needing to name the individual at hand to get his point across. Hinata remained silent for several moments before nodding somewhat guiltily.

"I am, yes. I would like to make absolutely certain that he is not harmed on his way home. And if anybody tries, I'll subdue them" she explained. Hiashi sighed sadly as he recalled the previous night, on which a somewhat frantic Hinata had dragged Naruto, who had been sporting an almost comically large cut on his forehead, into the estate.

"Before you leave, tell me something. What is it you hope to accomplish by being inconsistent? If you wish to gain his approval, you must be steady and stable, not an unpredictable whirlwind of arrogance and seemingly random displays of kindness" he asked. The Hyuga heiress prickled at his question.

"I never said I wanted his approval. Why on earth would I want the favor of a lowlife like him?" she asked, visibly flinching at her own use of the term 'lowlife'. The clan head shook his head and knelt down next to his daughter, who had settled into a seated position against the wall with one sandal on.

"Listen to yourself. You hurt yourself just by insulting him for the sake of your pride. Beyond that, you _never _cook for other people, not even me, and yet you woke up and four in the morning to make a _single _riceball, something you had never attempted to make before, for him. You may not like it, but you desire to be recognized as a one half of a positive relationship by him" he said. The Hyuga girl groaned and buried her face in her knees.

"I don't even know why I'm committing so much time and energy to him. Last night was our second most positive conversation, and it still involved an angry outburst from both of us" she said quietly. Hiashi put a hand on her shoulder.

"I think I may know why. It's because you're kind. Despite the mask you wear, you dislike watching people suffer. Especially those who already have nothing. Compound that with the fact that you still owe him your life on some level, and it makes perfect logical sense that he would dominate your motivations and consume your energy" he said. Hinata, to his surprise, nodded and stood up. She put on her remaining sandal and headed for the door.

"That makes sense. I think you may be right. Thank you, father" she said before exiting the estate and jogging off towards the gates. The Hyuga clan head watched her leave and smiled to himself.

'You've touched her, Uzumaki-san. I'm impressed. Your true test, however, will be what you do now that you have her attention'

* * *

**A/N: Had to get on that grind to get this one done. I really loved writing this one too, so I'm happy.**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	12. Worry

**A/N: Heyo. We're almost at 200 favs! Just a few more, boys! Now then, on to the oddest rendition of this pairing I've ever written.**

**Time for chapter 12**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Kakashi grinned as Naruto snapped Hinata's head back with a hard punch. The jonin had ordered his genin to spar. The method of matchmaking was identical to the first time they had sparred, with each of them fighting both of their teammates once. Unlike before, Hinata was not utterly dominating her fellow genin. Naruto, at least, was putting up an excellent fight. Shikamaru, who was watching alongside his sensei, whistled as the blonde ripped a hard punch into the Hyuga girl's gut.

"He's really good at punching people in the stomach. He sucks at literally everything else, but it's working for him right now" Shikamaru commented. Just as the words left his mouth, Naruto was struck in the ribs with a palm strike from Hinata, causing him to cough up a bit of blood and back up.

"He's a natural when it comes to taijutsu. None of it is pretty, but he has a pretty good idea of what he's trying to accomplish and how he's going to do it. Unfortunately, that lack of polish is costing him big time right now" the silver haired ninja replied as Naruto was buckled by a kick to the left side of his head. What happened next was a shock to the entirety of team seven. As the Hyuga girl stepped forward to finish the match. Naruto clobbered her with a hooking punch to the left side of her jaw, taking her legs away momentarily and dropping her to her rear end for a split second.

"_Damn_. He sat her down" Shikamaru said, his mouth wide open. Despite the knockdown, Hinata popped back to her feet instantly and attacked with renewed aggression, knocking Naruto to his back with twice as much force. Kakashi immediately rushed to the space between his students.

"That's enough. Well done, you two. Much better performance than last time, Naruto" he said with an approving nod. To his surprise, Hinata stepped forward and offered a hand to her fallen teammate. The blonde furrowed his eyebrows skeptically, but took the hand and stood to his feet.

"You actually listened to my advice. You used your left hand" the Hyuga girl said. Naruto scratched the back of his head and grinned.

"Well, it was all I could hit you with, so I kind of had to. You still served me up, though. You hit hard for such a small girl" he said jovially. Hinata immediately prickled at his words.

"I'm no smaller than you are. In fact, I may be an inch taller than you" she countered defensively. The Jinchuuriki shrugged and dusted himself off.

"Sure, but I'll bet I'm heavier. How much do you weigh?" he asked. Hinata's face flushed red with embarrassment. She shook her head rapidly.

"I'm not telling you that! You should never ask a lady her weight" she snapped indignantly. Naruto frowned.

"Why? I mean, it's not like your number would be all that embarrassing. You're in good shape" he said. The Hyuga heiress rubbed her temples and attempted to drain the redness from her face to no avail.

"It's still rude. There are some questions that you don't ask. Haven't we already talked about this?" she asked tiredly. Naruto shook his head.

"Nope. The only thing you've talked to me about is actually using my chopsticks when I'm eating ramen. Decent advice, but nothing to do with bodyweight" he said. Hinata sighed.

"Just don't ask again, okay? Let this be your lesson in etiquette for the day" she said. Naruto nodded and began to walk past the girl to join Kakashi in watching the oncoming match between Shikamaru and Hinata. Before he could pass her completely, the Hyuga girl reached out and seized him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him closer to her.

"Ninety pounds" she whispered before releasing him and turning to face Shikamaru. Her face was still bright red, all the way from the point of her nose to the tips of her ears. Naruto raised an eyebrow, but resumed walking, reaching Kakashi after a moment.

"What was all that about?" the jonin asked curiously. The jinchuuriki shook his head and winced as Hinata planted her shin across the right side of Shikamaru's ribs.

"It's a long story that I don't really feel like telling right now. I'll explain it some other day" he said. The silver haired ninja chuckled.

"Either way, you had her hot and bothered at the end there. Not sure how you did it, but I'm impressed" he said with a thumbs up. Naruto snorted.

"No, she was pissed. Anger is her default emotion. Well, that and insensitivity" he said. Kakashi frowned at his words.

"I don't think I would class insensitivity as an emotion. It's more like a personality trait" he said. The blonde gave his teacher a tired look as Hinata effortlessly evaded Shikamaru's strikes.

"Is that really any better?" he asked. Kakashi thought for a moment before shaking his head and pulling out his orange covered book.

"Not really, but, you asking how much she weighed was exactly sensitive either, you know" he pointed out. Naruto shrugged.

"At least I had a reason to ask the question" he said. The jonin smiled under his mask at the comment.

"And she actually answered you too. Not sure why, though" he said humorously. The pair then lapsed into silence as Shikamaru was slowly pummeled. After a few minutes, Kakashi decided that he had seen enough, despite the shadow user having remained vertical the entire match.

"That's enough, you two! Hinata is the winner" he called out to his students. They immediately ceased fighting and jogged their way over to Naruto and Kakashi.

"As you all know, the Chunin Exams are in a little more than three weeks. I'm planning on entering all three of you. Last year's exams were some of the most violent in recent memory, with Sunagakure utterly dominating the competition. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how competitive you are, they're going to be competing again this year. As such, I want you all to be well prepared. Shikamaru, Hinata, I've already spoken with your families, and they'll be handling around seventy-percent of your training. Naruto, you'll be with me. We'll still have group sessions, but only in the mornings. The rest of your time will be spent with your clans, except for you of course, Naruto" he explained once they reached him. The group nodded.

"For now, that's all I've got for you all today. It's going to be dark soon, so I'd suggest getting dinner or something like that. Breakfast won't be a good idea tomorrow, because I'm going to make the most of our sessions from now on" the jonin said. At this, the genin began to walk away.

The silver haired ninja observed the children as they trekked on. As they grew smaller and smaller due to the distance between them, Kakashi smiled.

'At least one of you is going to become a chunin. The best part is that I'm not sure which'

* * *

Naruto yawned as he made his way out of the training field. As Kakashi had said, it was beginning to darken, and it wouldn't be long before it was pitch black. The day had been fairly uneventful, save for sparring, which was as hectic as it always was.

'I actually managed to knock her down today. I'm not sure how, but I did it' Naruto thought to himself proudly. Then, as if on cue, he was tapped on the shoulder.

"Good evening, Naruto-san" Hinata, who had tapped him, said. The blonde chuckled and turned to face his teammate.

"You saw me five minutes ago. You don't need to be so formal" he said. The Hyuga heiress ignored his comment and continued speaking.

"You and I are going to have dinner. Come, we don't have all night" she commanded abruptly. Naruto frowned as he was tugged along.

"You're not even going to _ask_ if I want to have dinner with you? Because I don't really want to eat out" he said in an irritated tone. Hinata glanced back at him over her shoulder, her expression softening slightly.

"Please" she said quietly. The jinchuuriki studied her skeptically for a moment before allowing himself to be pulled along.

'What's her deal?' he wondered as they rounded a corner. Eventually, Hinata lead him into a small cafe in the northern sector of Konoha. By the time they walked through the door, it was completely dark, with only the half-moon to illuminate the night. Once they were fully inside the small establishment, Hinata directed Naruto to a small table in the far right corner in the back on the dining area.

"I've never even seen this place before. How'd you find it?" the blonde asked as they sat down across from one another. Hinata shrugged and thanked the server, who handed her a drink, but predictably opted to let Naruto go thirsty.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Would you mind extending any services you provide to me to my companion as well?" the Hyuga girl asked, her tone bordering on anger, but not quite. The woman flinched and glanced over her shoulder.

"Y-yes. Forgive me, Hyuga-sama" she said before scurrying back to the kitchen to retrieve a glass of water. Hinata then returned her attention to Naruto.

"I come here regularly. As you said, it's quite difficult to find, so it's almost never busy. In fact, I may be what is keeping this place running monetarily" she said, answering his earlier question. The jinchuuriki nodded.

"Quiet and empty. Reminds me of you" he joked, well aware that he was walking a fine line. Hinata raised an eyebrow, a subtle smile spreading across her lips.

"It seems that myself and your skull have quite a bit in common" she retorted. The blonde laughed out loud.

"So you _can_ joke. I should insult you more. You're more fun when I do" he said between laughs. The Hyuga girl narrowed her eyes at the comment.

"Go right ahead. See where it gets you" she challenged dangerously. Naruto instantly felt the atmosphere shift. He quit laughing and put up his hands defensively.

"Just a joke. You don't have to threaten me. Like I said before, loosen up a little" he said. To his surprise, Hinata did not immediately snap back at him. Instead, she gave no response at all, opting to simply stare at him blankly. The blonde sighed and snapped his fingers, shaking her from her apparent trance.

"Quit doing that. You scold me for being rude, but last time I checked, staring at people isn't exactly 'polite'" he said. Hinata lowered her eyes to the table and mumbled an apology. Naruto's already-present frown strengthened.

'Why is she being so subdued? This isn't like her at all' he wondered to himself. The server then returned with his water and waited expectantly for their orders. Hinata ordered a stick of dango, and Naruto ordered a bowl of ramen with a riceball on the side. Once the server left, Hinata finally spoke audibly.

"What are your thoughts regarding the Chunin Exams? Do you believe that our team is ready?" she asked. The jinchuuriki thought for a moment before answering.

"I think we'll do fine. You're eyes are great for tracking, and you're slick as hell in taijutsu. Shikamaru can think his way out of just about anything, and I'm apparently immortal. I like our chances" he replied. The Hyuga girl nodded and took a sip of her water.

"I believe the survival portion will be effortless. Our cell is well rounded and offensively capable. We shouldn't struggle all that much with finding ways around whatever they send our way. What concerns me, however, is the one-on-one combat that we will be required to participate in. I mean no offense to you, but there are two people that I don't think you're capable of beating as you are" she said. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Who would these people be?" he asked curiously. Hinata pursed her lips and pointed to the Hyuga crest on her sleeve.

"One of them is my cousin, a member of the branch family, Neji Hyuga. He, alongside myself, is the most talented child of my family's current generation. The second is likely Sasuke Uchiha, but I have my doubts about that after today" she said. The blonde nodded.

"What gives you doubts about Sasuke? Not that I disagree with you, because I don't" he asked. The Hyuga girl turned her head and showed him the right side of her jaw, which was bruised.

"You have a natural talent for taijutsu. As blessed a punch as it may have been, you still knocked me down. A feat only accomplished by my father before today" she said. Before Naruto could respond, the server returned with their food. The pair decided to put their conversation on hold to eat a few bites of their meal.

"Elbows off the table, Naruto-san" the heiress ordered. The jinchuuriki grumbled, but did as he was told. After a minute or two of eating, Naruto spoke again.

"I'm pretty confident I can beat Sasuke. He was always stronger than me by a little bit in the academy, as much as I hate to admit it, but I think I've grown enough to take him down. I don't know enough about Neji to say whether or not I think I would have a chance" he said. Hinata lightly chewed her dango and studied her teammate.

"If I may say so, I believe that the version of you that fought against Haku-san post-revival would chew up and spit out any of our fellow genin without any trouble at all" she said. Naruto shook his head.

"You're probably right, but I won't be using the fox's power if I can help it. I don't want to maim anybody" he said. The Hyuga girl chuckled.

"I still find it absolutely incredible, Naruto-san. What you did in the Land of Waves, I mean. You committed voluntary, enemy-assisted suicide, died, and then rose to batter the man who had killed you. Quite a feat" she said. Naruto shrugged and took a bite of a riceball on his plate.

"I was operating on another gear. I don't even remember half of what I did" he admitted. Hinata sighed, seemingly out of relief. The pair went on to discuss several other topics before finishing their food and exiting the restaurant.

"I enjoyed that more than I thought I would. Thanks, I guess" Naruto said once they were out in the street once more. Hinata nodded and put up the hood of her jacket as a cold wind blew. When she didn't respond verbally. The blonde turned and began to walk.

"I'm going home. Have a nice night" he said, waving once as he walked. After a moment of peaceful travel, rapid footsteps caught the attention of Nartuto, who glanced back over his shoulder.

"Did you forget something?" he asked Hinata, who had jogged to catch up with him. She shook her head and fell into step beside him.

"No, I'm going to walk you to your apartment" she said. The jinchuuriki opened his mouth to protest, but shut it again when he received a hard glare from the Hyuga girl, who was clearly in no mood to argue. After several minutes of uneventful walking, they reached the stairs that lead to Naruto's dwelling. They ascended them and reached the door, where the blonde turned around to face Hinata.

"Why were you so bent on walking me home? That's kind of out of character for you" he asked skeptically. The Hyuga girl tensed at the question, turning her gaze to the floor.

"I was simply being polite. If I'm to teach you how to be cordial and proper, I need to follow my own advice" she said. Naruto shook his head and closed his front door, which he had opened a moment previously.

"Or, was it because you were afraid that I would get mugged again?" he asked. Hinata sighed and nodded her head dejectedly.

"Yes, it was. I know that you don't like the idea of being coddled, but I...feel awful about sitting idly by while you were attacked. I wanted to make absolutely certain that you weren't harmed. That you arrived home safe and sound" she admitted quietly. The jinchuuriki smiled.

"Is that why you dragged me out to get dinner? To give yourself an excuse to walk home with me?" he asked. The Hyuga heiress gave a barely detectable nod, her eyes still downcast and her face contorted with guilt. Naruto then surprised both of them by sliding an index finger under her chin and lifting her face.

"Hey, look at me. You don't have any good reason to feel bad about what you did tonight. I really appreciate it, Hinata. That was really sweet of you" he said reassuringly. Hinata stared at him wide-eyed. She had never trekked onto such personal grounds with another living person before, and it was showing.

"You don't need to say anything. Just try not to stare so much. It's kinda weird" the blonde said with a chuckle. He then released his gentle grip on her chin and opened his door to enter his apartment. Before he closed the door, he glanced over his shoulder one last time.

"By the way, your riceball was a hell of a lot better than that cafe's" he said before closing the door and slipping inside. Hinata's cheeks and ears gained a pink tint as she watched the door. After a moment, she smiled and folded her hands over her chest.

"Goodnight...Naruto-kun"

* * *

**A/N: she won't say that out loud for quite awhile, but the thought is there now. They've still got a long way to go, as should be obvious. Tell me what you all thought of the chapter!**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	13. Considerations and Discussions

**A/N: Sorry for the longer wait on this chapter. I had some IRL stuff to attend to for the holidays. Hope you enjoy the chapter either way.**

**Time for chapter 13**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Hinata flopped onto her bed and sighed. It had been an excessively long day of drilling, and she was utterly exhausted. Every part of her body hurt, from her knees to the joints in her fingers. The Hyuga girl was used to such soreness by this point, as her training regimen had always been brutal, as was expectable for the future leader of the clan. As she caught her breath, she rolled over onto her stomach and rested her chin on her hands.

'I'm making progress. This pain is worth it.' she thought to herself as she stretched her back and rolled over onto her side. The group sessions with Team Seven were tame when compared to her clan-specific training, and much more enjoyable. It had been three days since the arrangement had been made, and all three of the days had been marked by the same pattern. Hinata would wake up at six in the morning, make her way to the training grounds, lightly bicker with Naruto about either etiquette or taijutsu, complete her drills, and then leave. From there, she would return home and spend the rest of the day training with Hiashi.

'I wish my sessions didn't run so late. I never have time to...watch' she thought to herself, somewhat embarrassed by her own train of thought. Her mind then returned to the place it had routinely journeyed to over the past 72 hours.

'I wonder if he heard me? I don't think he did, but it would be quite...embarrassing if it were the case' she wondered. The occurrence her brain was referring to was the conversation she and the blonde had partaken in outside of his apartment three days prior. During said conversation, Hinata had, albeit once the encounter was more or less finished, attached an affectionate honorific to the end of his name.

'As frustrating as it may be prove to be in the long run, Naruto-kun's density comes in handy every once in awhile' she thought humorously. The Hyuga heiress then smiled as she allowed her mind to focus on one detail of their conversation in particular.

'He likes my cooking, apparently. Perhaps I should make something else some time' she thought to herself. As she was imagining these things, the door to her room opened, revealing her sister, Hanabi.

"Somebody looks tired" she said as she stepped into the room. Hinata nodded and sighed, cracking her neck several times.

"I am. Drilling was absolutely hellish today. Understandably so, but a painful experience nonetheless" she said. Hanabi chuckled and sat down on the bed next to her sister. She then poked Hinata on the cheek.

"Warm faced, are we? What's on your mind, elder sister?" she asked with a wry grin. Hinata tensed slightly, but calmed immediately.

"Nothing like what you're thinking. As I said, training was difficult, and I'm still warm from it" she said, her tone holding a subtle underbelly of defensiveness. Her sister giggled and tilted her head to one side.

"Would this happen to have something to do with why you arrived home so late several days ago?" she asked with a grin. The Hyuga heiress shook her head rapidly, her face now red. Hanabi laughed out loud at her usually astute sister's girlish reaction.

"It _does_ have something to do with that. Oh, how _scandalous, _Ne-san" she teased humorously. Hinata sighed and buried her face in one of her pillows.

"Leave me be, Hanabi. I don't want to talk about this right now" she said tiredly. Hanabi patted her on the back and laid down next to her.

"You could at least tell me his name" she said. The Hyuga heiress rolled over onto her back and glanced at her sister.

"Naruto Uzumaki" she said quietly. Hanabi raised an eyebrow at the response and frowned.

"I mean no offense to you, but that seems like quite a poor choice. I've seen him here with you several times, but I never suspected that you were-" she began. Before she could finish, she was silenced by a glare from Hinata.

"I would prefer if you didn't pass judgement on him without having fought alongside him first. I understand your concern, I too considered him to be a wretch, but he has proven me wrong. He is...quite admirable" she said. Her sister studied her for a moment before speaking.

"You sound awfully conflicted despite the compliments you're giving him. Why is that?" she asked curiously. The Hyuga heiress drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them.

"I don't know how I feel about him at all. On the one hand, I do find him to be quite irritating, but on another, he has proven himself to be reliable, good-natured, and shockingly intelligent. Every once in awhile, he can even be...sweet" she said quietly. Hanabi furrowed her eyebrows.

"It sounds to me like your feelings are quite straightforward. You desire him. Even the people you greatly appreciate are going to get on your nerves from time to time. Just accept the fact that you wish to lock him in a dark room and-" she said. Hinata managed to slap a hand over her sister's mouth before she could finish the sentence, but the message was still clear.

"No, nothing like that. I would never do something so...unbecoming. As for my feelings being straightforward, you're right in that they _should_ be, but they aren't. I treated him like an insect for the vast majority of our mission during the land of waves, and yet he still gave up his life for me. Even after all of that happened, I still treated him poorly, to the extent that I left him to be beaten in the street when I could have helped him" she said, her voice weakening a bit at the final sentence. Hanabi gave her a sympathetic look and patted her on the back.

"It sounds to me like you feel unworthy of him. Like you don't deserve to be treated kindly by him after your indiscretions against him. I must say, I feel quite the same about a boy I've been interacting with. It's a difficult feeling to get over" she said. Hinata nodded and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, a small smile slowly spreading across her lips.

"He's been shockingly forgiving. He even claimed to enjoy the riceball I made" she said, a trace of happiness returning to her voice. Her sister's eyes widened.

"Wait, _that's_ why you were cooking at four in the morning the other day? I just thought you were hungry. That is just adorable" she said with a grin. The Hyuga heiress sighed as Hanabi giggled.

"You mentioned a boy that you felt guilty about treating poorly. It sounds to me like you and I are in similar positions. What's his name?" she asked curiously. The young Hyuga ceased her laughter and reddened a bit.

"That's neither here nor there, Ne-san. Konohamaru-kun is none of your-" she said, only realizing her mistake once the sentence was eighty percent complete. It was Hinata's turn to laugh, which she did.

"Oh, little sister. You have such a loose tongue. Don't worry, I'll keep this quiet for you" she assured Hanabi as she laughed. The young Hyuga sighed in relief.

"At least I have the free time to fix my mistakes. Good luck, Hinata-nesan. I hope this all works for you" she said before hopping off the bed and exiting the room to prepare herself to sleep. Once she was gone, Hinata smiled and tucked herself under her covers.

'I think I'll make dango tomorrow morning. Let's see if we have the same taste in food'

* * *

Shikamaru rubbed his eyes as he sipped on his water. He glanced to his left at Naruto, who was consuming noodles at an absolutely breakneck pace. There were at least seven bowls piled on the counter of Ichiraku's ramen stand, and the pile was only going to grow at the rate the blonde was eating.

"I get that Kakashi-sensei worked you hard today, but is it really necessary to eat a literal ton of ramen? You're going to puke" the shadow user asked tiredly. Naruto nodded and continued to eat. After roughly thirty seconds of ravenous eating, the Jinchuuriki spoke.

"He made me run up _one hundred_ trees three times each. On top of that, he made me spar him a few times, so I'm a little beat up too. Today sucked. I've _earned_ this" he said as he ate more noodles. Shikamaru sighed.

"That sounds rough. All I did today was practice using shadow possession and do some basic taijutsu drills. I still had to deal with my mom, though, so I'd still trade with you if I could" he said. Naruto finished his bowl and stacked on top of his other seven, bringing the total to eight.

"I'll bet neither one of us is being worked as hard as Hinata. When you come from a family that famous, they've got to have some insane standards for you to meet" he said. The lazy genin nodded and rested his chin on his hand.

"She's probably doing what we _should _be doing and getting sleep. She, like you said, probably needs it even more than we do" he said. Naruto ordered another three bowls of noodles and yawned.

"You know, she's actually a lot nicer than she comes off. Well, maybe 'nice' isn't the right word. More like thoughtful. She forced me to go to dinner with her a few days ago, and it turns out she was trying to make sure I didn't get beat up on the way home" he said. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"That's...really pretty sweet. If only she was like that day in and day out" he said. The Jinchuuriki rubbed his eyes and nodded in agreement.

"I know right? I've been trying to give her pointers on how to be nice, so maybe that'll help in the long run" he said with a shrug. The shadow user finally folded and ordered his own bowl of chicken-flavored ramen.

"She doesn't seem like the type to take advice from someone her own age. Especially a teammate" he commented. Naruto sighed and twirled his chopsticks.

"Yeah, she's not super coachable. I think she's trying, though, which I appreciate. She has a bad habit of staring at people, so I'm trying to get her to do that less" he explained. Shikamaru chuckled.

"You do realize that she only stares at _you _right? It isn't really a problem if it's purely isolated to one person, which it is" he replied. Naruto's eyes widened.

"Wait, really? That's even weirder, honestly. I should talk to her about that" he said. The shadow user shook his head and grinned.

"No, leave it be. I think you'll like where this all leads if you do" he said wryly. The Jinchuuriki, at the height of his metaphorical density, gave his teammate a look of confusion.

"What's that supposed to mean? It stresses me out when she tries to burn a hole in my skull with her eyes" he asked. Shikamaru snickered.

'At least she isn't looking any lower. She could _literally _undress you with her eyes' he thought to himself humorously. At the thought, the lazy genin burst out laughing, earning a glare from his oblivious teammate.

"What's so funny, lazyass?" he asked dangerously. The shadow user shook his head and tamed his laughter to a low chuckle.

"Nothing important. Still, don't point out that she stares at you only. Trust me, it'll mean good things for you" he said. Naruto remained silent for a moment, clearly racking his brain to decipher the reasoning behind his teammate's advice. Eventually he gave up and nodded.

"Fine, I'll keep my mouth shut" he conceded. The boys continued to discuss various topics until the clock struck midnight, prompting them to go their separate ways for the night.

Luckily, despite the lack of a silent, pale-eyed girl watching over him from the shadows, Naruto walked through the door of his apartment unscathed.

* * *

Kakashi took a deep breath as he jogged around the perimeter of Konoha. It was roughly two in the morning, and the jonin had been completely unable to sleep, prompting him to go for a nighttime run to settle his mysteriously jittery nerves.

'Naruto is a fascinating person to work with. He's clearly talented in a variety of areas, and much smarter than you would think he is. What I can't put my finger on is why he struggles so much with genjutsu. He has the chakra for it, and his control isn't _that_ bad' he thought to himself as he passed the Hokage monument. His thoughts then wandered to upcoming exams.

'Matchup wise, I think all three of them should be fine. The only three people that are overly threatening to them are Sasuke, Neji Hyuga, and Rock Lee. Even then, Naruto might be something of a nightmare for Sasuke at this point with the amount of clones he can create, and his taijutsu is getting much better. Hinata likely loses to Neji, though. Then again, all three of them lose to Neji as they are now' he contemplated.

Kakashi continued to dissect and analyze the individual matchups one by one, poking holes in the tactics and strategies of the opposing genin.

'Lee is problematic for Shikamaru due to the speed difference, but if he can survive for long enough, I would trust him to figure something out. Hinata might carve Lee up early, but once again, the speed would be an issue. Naruto and Lee is fascinating, but Naruto would need a way to badly hurt him to win' he thought with a frown. Suddenly, an idea manifested in his mind. He stopped running and held out his left hand.

"Rasengan" he said quietly. After a moment of silence, a swirling ball of blue chakra formed in the palm of his hand, a humming sound accompanying it. The jonin smiled underneath his still-present mask.

'I was planning on teaching Hinata Chidori at some point, because I'm pretty sure I know what her chakra nature is, but this one could be a perfect fit for Naruto. Yes, I think this'll work' he thought. He allowed the sphere to fizzle out and continued running.

'Naruto is going to love this'

* * *

**A/N: Before any of you complain, Kakashi DOES know the Rasengan. He derived the Chidori from it when attempting to apply Lightning Style to it. Hope you enjoyed! Tell me what you thought of the chapter :)**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	14. A Fortunate Sprain

**A/N: I have a ton of time on my hands, so I figured I'd update again. Consider it an early Christmas present.**

**Time for chapter 14**

**Enjoy!**

Hinata gritted her teeth as she suppressed the searing pain in her ankle. She and her teammates had been sent on an endurance run by Kakashi, and the weather was abysmal. It had been raining on and off for the past forty-five minutes, and the sky was a depressing grey color. Unfortunately for the Hyuga heiress, several puddles had formed due to the rain. One of these puddles also happened to be a small pothole, which she had tripped over. Hinata's ankle had twisted as she had fallen, likely spraining it in the process.

Despite the obvious injury, she had decided to continue running. For every step she took, her ankle became more and more unbearable to put weight on.

'Two more laps. Just two more. Ignore the pain' Hinata thought to herself. After several more steps, her mental coaching could not motivate her enough to continue running. She crashed to the ground and grimaced in pain as she clutched her injured ankle.

"Good god, why does this have to be so painful?" she hissed. She rolled onto her back and sighed as it began to rain again. For roughly ten minutes, she laid there silently. Eventually, she was found by the first and last person that she would have wanted to find her injured on the street.

"Hinata? Are you trying to nap in the middle of the street?" Naruto, who had made his way around the village, said. Hinata glanced at the blond and attempted to sit up. Before she could fully straighten, her ankle shifted, causing her to yelp.

"I...think I might have sprained my ankle" she admitted. Naruto jogged over to Hinata and knelt down beside her.

"Oh, that's not good. How many laps do you have left?" he asked. The Hyuga girl thought for a moment.

"Three. I think I sprained it during my fourth lap" she replied through a grimace. The Jinchuuriki raised an eyebrow.

"You ran an entire lap around the village with a sprained ankle? I've gotta say, that's really impressive" he complimented. The Hyuga heiress sighed.

"Be that as it may, I can't walk on it anymore" she said frustratedly. Naruto remained silent for a moment before plucking her from the ground and walking back towards the bench where Kakashi was always situated during their endurance runs.

"What on earth are you doing?" Hinata squeaked, her face practically glowing red. The Jinchuuriki shrugged and adjusted his grip on her to better support her weight.

"Carrying you back to Kakashi-sensei. He probably knows how to fix a sprained ankle. It'll probably take fifteen minutes to get back, so be patient" he replied. The Hyuga girl shifted a bit in his arms.

"You could have at least _asked_ before picking me up" she grumbled. Naruto gave her a bored look and shook his head.

"If I had asked, you would have scurried away or punched me. Maybe both" he said bluntly. Hinata opened her mouth to refute the statement, but shut it again when she found that he was likely correct.

"I would have been perfectly justified if I had punched you, Naruto…san" she said quietly, managing to catch herself before attaching 'kun' to the end of Naruto's name. The blonde chuckled at her retort.

"Then why haven't you? I'm in range, and I probably can't dodge you" he asked. Hinata responded by wrapping her arms around the back of his neck and curling up.

"I don't want you to drop me. It would hurt" she admitted, clearly embarrassed by the fact that she was being carried bridal-style through the streets of Konoha. Naruto reddened a bit at the heightened physical contact, but continued to carry her.

"I won't drop you. If I did, you'd tear me in half once you could walk again if I did. I don't want to die as a teenager" he said. The Hyuga heiress remained silent as she was briskly transported through the village, her face a shade of red that had yet to be discovered by the scientific community. After several minutes, she spoke again.

"Thank you for this. Really" she said gratefully. The Jinchuuriki smiled and adjusted his grip on her again.

"You don't have to thank me. What was I supposed to do? Just leave you in the rain with a sprained ankle?" he replied. His teammate looked up at him and tilted her head to one side.

"Well, you could have just ran to Kakashi-sensei and brought him here yourself. Instead, you chose to slow yourself down and carry me" she pointed out.

"Would you have preferred me to have done that instead of carrying you?" he asked. Hinata, to his surprise, shook her head and tightened her grip around his neck and shoulder.

"No. I would have caught a cold. You're...quite pleasantly warm" she said quietly. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Thank...you?" he said, earning a rare giggle from the Hyuga heiress. The blonde sighed and looked down at his injured teammate once more.

"What's so funny?" he asked. Hinata shook her head and calmed herself down in order to speak.

"Oh, nothing. I just find the fact that you were perfectly willing to pick up me, your female teammate, but are unsure of how to react the half of a compliment to be quite endearing" she said humorously. Naruto studied her for several seconds.

"You should laugh more. It suits you" he said. Hinata immediately averted eye contact and curled up again.

"And you should carry me more often. It suits us both" she said quietly. The moment the sentence left her lips, she realized her critical mistake and slapped a hand over her mouth. Naruto raised an eyebrow,

"What was that?" he asked. The Hyuga heiress shook her head rapidly and covered her pink-tinted face.

"Nothing. Nothing at all" she said meekly. The blonde shrugged and picked up the pace at which he was walking. After another minute or two of walking, they reached the bench where their sensei awaited them.

"What do we have here? Bridal-style, huh? Not bad, Naruto" Kakashi, who was still reading his orange-colored book, asked. Naruto set Hinata down on the bench next to the jonin.

"She sprained her ankle. She tripped or something" he explained. Kakashi knelt down and studied the Hyuga girl's foot for a moment before nodding in confirmation.

"Not a sprain, but a dislocation. Definitely painful-looking. I can fix this pretty easily" he said. Hinata sighed in relief and allowed the silver haired ninja to prop her foot up on the bench. Then, without warning, Kakashi snapped her ankle back into its socket, eliciting a high-pitched cry of pain from Hinata.

"Couldn't you have warned me first?!" she demanded as she tentatively rotated her foot around. The jonin shrugged and returned his attention to his book.

"If I had, you would have tensed up and made it even more painful. Now get running, you two. Try not to hurt yourself again, Hinata" he ordered. The genin both sighed, but nodded and took off running to complete their final laps. Three for Hinata, and two for Naruto. Kakashi watched them as they scurried away and smiled.

'They're a weird pair, but I'd be lying if I said they weren't adorable'

* * *

Naruto wiped sweat from his brow as he reset into his stance and stared down Kakashi. They had been sparring in the rain for the past thirty minutes, a true test of the Jinchuuriki's endurance in combat. Despite the difference in strength between the two, Kakashi had not refrained from hitting the genin hard and cleanly, as evidenced by the blood trickling down the side of Naruto's face.

"Don't just stare at me, kid. Do something" the jonin ordered. Naruto responded by charging forward and throwing a punch at the left side of Kakashi's head, a strike that the silver haired ninja easily evaded. The blonde followed up the missed punch with a kick to Kakashi's chest which, to his surprise, landed and launched the jonin backwards.

"Good! Now build on that success" the older ninja said. Naruto nodded and pressed forward again. Before he could mount any sort of offense, his head was snapped back by a sharp, left-handed punch from Kakashi. The Jinchuuriki stumbled back a step and growled. He then returned fire with two punches that both missed, earning him a hard knee to the stomach from his sensei. Naruto coughed painfully and dropped to his knees, a small stream of blood trickling from his mouth.

"What the hell is this? Why are you beating the hell out of me? This isn't even training at this point" he demanded from his knees. Kakashi gave him a hard stare.

"Because you need to get stronger quickly. The exams are two weeks out, and you're our best bet for the one-on-one combat section of the testing. I can't afford to take it easy on you" he explained. The blonde frowned and climbed to his feet.

"That doesn't make sense to me. Hinata is still the strongest member of our team" he said. The jonin shook his head.

"No, she isn't. You know as well as I do that you could kill her if you fought. The clones, stamina, and demonic chakra would be far too much for Hinata to handle" he said.

"I've already told you, Kakashi-sensei. I can't control the fox's power" he said. The jonin raised an eyebrow.

"I have some doubts about that. Hinata told me that you were awfully calm for somebody who claimed to have no control over the power he was using" he said. Naruto sighed.

"Look, I'm not lying when I say I can't just call on it whenever I want. I just know what state of mind I need to be in for the power to have a chance of manifesting. When I'm pissed, there's always a chance that the power comes out" he explained. Kakashi nodded and stepped back.

"We're done sparring for today. I have something I've been meaning to teach your for a few days now" he said. Before Naruto could ask the obvious question of what he would be learning, the jonin held out a hand and focused a mass of chakra into it. After several moments, a swirling sphere of blue energy formed in the palm of his hand.

"What's that? I can _hear_ it" the Jinchuuriki asked curiously. Kakashi smiled and forced a bit more chakra into the sphere, increasing its size slightly.

"It's called Rasengan. A technique invented by the Fourth Hokage, who also happened to be my sensei when I was your age" he explained. Naruto's eyes widened.

"You were trained by the Fourth? That's awesome" he said. The silver haired ninja nodded and allowed the sphere to fizzle out.

"You're going to be learning this technique, and you aren't likely to learn a stronger one for quite some time. But, even more so than many powerful jutsu, the Rasengan is incredibly difficult to use. It's the height of shape transformation, and you're going to hate it by the time you're practiced enough to use it in combat" he said. The genin nodded.

"Alright, what do I have to do to learn it?" he asked. Kakashi reached into his kunai pouch and produced three un-filled water balloons.

"Fill these up with rain water and we can get started"

* * *

Shikamaru yawned as he walked through the streets of Konoha. He was out late, later than he likely should have been, but sleep had eluded him consistently throughout the night. Clan drilling had been simplistic and boring that day, with the lazy genin being forced to spar his father numerous times. He had lost each and every time, obviously, but the sessions had not even been stressful.

'Being a ninja is boring as hell. Even the Land of Waves mission didn't get interesting until Naruto _died_' he thought to himself. He then rounded a corner and turned onto a new street. As he walked along, his mind wandered back to something his father, Shikaku, had said during one of their sparring sessions.

"_If you can't defend yourself when faced with an opponent that you can't just out think, you'll die before you've had your first legal sip of alcohol"_

Shikamaru sighed as he contemplated the frustrating accuracy that the Nara clan head's words held. The lazy genin had never been a good student of taijutsu, and it was beginning to show in training. Naruto, who had essentially never been trained formally, tended to beat him more often than not, and Hinata obviously trounced him.

'I should get Kakashi-sensei to help me some time. I'll get my ass handed to me in the exam if I can't at least punch with people' he thought to himself. While he had been thinking, Shikamaru had stopped paying attention to where he was walking, and promptly bumped into somebody as a result.

"Sorry about that. I spaced out a little" he apologized as he offered a hand to the person he had accidentally knocked to the ground. The person in question was a boy around his same age. He had long brown hair and pale, blank eyes. The boy took the hand and stood to his feet.

"Don't worry about it. We both failed to pay attention, and as such, we collided" he said as he dusted himself off. The shadow user looked him up and down and raised an eyebrow.

'A Hyuga, huh? I guess they all talk like seventeenth century poets' he thought to himself. The Hyuga boy studied him for a moment before speaking again.

"Would you happen to be Shikamaru Nara?" he asked, surprising the lazy genin. Shikamaru nodded and raised an eyebrow.

"I am, yes. How do you know who I am, exactly?" he asked skeptically. His fellow genin chuckled and gestured to the village around them.

"Kakashi Hatake's Team Seven has gained quite a name in this village, Nara-san. You completed an A-Ranked mission with only D-Ranked missions under your belt. A feat like that is completely unheard of. Aside from your fifteen minutes of fame, my cousin also happens to be a member of your team" he explained. The Nara chuckled.

"Hinata, right? She's an interesting one, that's for sure. Not necessarily in a good way either" he replied, well aware that he was walking a fine line by backhandedly insulting the Hyuga girl. The boy laughed out loud.

"I would have to agree with you on that front. Cold as an icicle. Just as sharp too. I must say, most people don't have the gusto to insult a member of the Hyuga clan to the face of another member. You impress me, Nara-san" he complimented. Shikamaru grinned.

"I'm a no-nonsense kind of guy. I don't like to sugar-coat things" he said. The Hyuga boy chuckled and nodded.

"Neither do I. Now, as fascinating as this conversation has been, I must be going now. I have places to be" he said, turning to walk away as he spoke. The shadow user watched him walk for several moments before calling out to him.

"What's your name?" he asked. The boy glanced back over his shoulder and stopped walking for a moment.

"My name is Neji" he replied before continuing his trek towards his destination, whatever it was. Shikamaru then turned and began to walk back towards his home.

'So, that's the guy Kakashi-sensei is worried about, huh? Can't say I don't understand his concern. He seemed...competent. More than most genin are' he thought to himself. The shadow user reached the front door of his home at roughly one in the morning. He sighed and pushed the door open.

'I should stop going for late-night walks. I always run into someone scary'

* * *

**A/N: The debut of Neji is now in the books. Pretty short, but he'll have plenty of screentime during the exam. **

**Tell me what you thought of the chapter!**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	15. Bitter and Envious

**A/N: Forgive me for the long wait! I got a little sick, so I had to take a few days to recover. Hope you all like it!**

**Time for chapter 15**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Hinata shivered slightly as she silently observed two distant figures from behind a tree. It was nearly midnight, but she had completed her drilling several hours previously, meaning that she had the freedom to do as she pleased until the next day. Her curfew had been informally removed after Hiashi had discovered the reasoning behind her tardiness, something the Hyuga girl was extremely grateful for. The two people she was using her new freedom to observe were Naruto and Kakashi, who were sparring in the training field, as they always seemed to be at this hour.

Under most circumstances, such a sparring session would be completely uninteresting to the Hyuga heiress, as Naruto's technique was still fairly sloppy, but this occasion was different.

'For all of the problems with how he goes about it, Naruto-kun's taijutsu is evolving. Quickly, at that' she thought to herself as she observed the blonde engage with their teacher again and again. The finer details of his taijutsu were still rough and crude, but the application of his techniques was much better than it had been before. On top of that, he was actually making attempts at defensive maneuvers, failing many of them, but attempting all the same, which was an enormous improvement from how he had been.

As she continued to observe the match, the more small details she noticed to be improved about his close-range combat. From small nuances of footwork to punching form, everything had sharpened. None of it was anywhere near perfect, but now, he appeared to be _competent_, which could not have been said about him even a week previously. That timeframe in which his improvement had to have taken place was what was beginning to bother the Hyuga girl as she watched him almost _compete_ with Kakashi, who was clearly holding back, but was also not reading his orange-covered book.

'A week ago, I could have made a night out of silently critiquing his footwork alone, but now, I feel as though I myself may struggle with him a bit. How on earth has he improved so drastically?' she wondered to herself, a trace of indignation permeating the thought. She took a deep breath to calm herself down as she begrudgingly found herself becoming more and more impressed as Naruto and Kakashi exchanged leads and counters. The blonde had not won a single exchange, but he had not been blown out of the water either.

The longer she watched, the greater the bruise on Hinata's ego became. For an untrained until recently boy to have improved more in a week than she had in the past five years was a difficult pill to swallow, and it was still stuck in her throat, as she was internally seething.

'I shouldn't be angry. I have _no right_ to be angry. But...this makes me angry' she scolded herself frustratedly. As she was having this internal crisis, somebody else joined her in watching the blonde train.

"You look perturbed" Shikamaru, who had silently made his way behind Hinata, said tiredly. The Hyuga heiress glanced over her shoulder and sighed heavily.

"What gives you that impression?" she asked. The shadow user chuckled and walked up to her left, keeping his eyes glued to the distant drilling session.

"You're shaking a little. That either means you're pissed or crying, and you don't seem like the crying type to me. Not at all, actually" he said. Hinata turned her attention back to Naruto.

"Excellent deductive reasoning, Nara-san. Would you like a medal?" she asked sarcastically. Shikamaru laughed out loud.

"You suck at hiding your emotions. Insulting me is just further confirmation" he said. The Hyuga heiress growled slightly, but took a deep breath and calmed herself down.

"What do you want?" she asked a bit more quietly. The lazy genin studied her momentarily before asking the obvious question.

"Why are you angry? You're watching Naruto, the only person outside of your family that you seem to give a damn about, on a good day at least, train. That seems like it would be a good time for you" he asked curiously. Hinata pursed her lips and exhaled through her nose as Naruto and Kakashi began to work on a jutsu of some kind.

"It isn't something you would understand with your lack of motivation" she replied stubbornly. Shikamaru sighed and gave her a bored look.

"Quite being difficult and tell me. I'm not stupid, I can empathize enough to understand whatever your reasoning is" he said. The Hyuga girl remained silent for a moment before caving and revealing her dilemma.

"His progress in taijutsu is absolutely astounding. A week ago, he was bordering on incompetence, and now he's actually a perfectly respectable striker. He moves, he pivots, he counters, the works. _One week_, Nara-san. One week of work with Kakashi-sensei and this is the result" she said through clenched teeth. The shadow user raised an eyebrow.

"That's a good thing, Hinata. Why the hell would his progress bother you?" he asked, well aware of the answer he was bound to receive. Hinata threw up her hands and turned to face him fully.

"It isn't the progress itself that bothers me. It's the _time-frame_. He has never been formally trained until now, and he's seen more growth in seven days than I have in the past half-decade! Can you not see why this angers me?" she asked somewhat loudly. Shikamaru frowned.

"So, his progress makes you angry because you aren't progressing at the same rate?" he asked. The Hyuga heiress opened her mouth to deny the question, but shut it again when she realized he was likely correct.

"Yes, that's exactly what it is. He makes me feel inadequate" she admitted quietly. Shikamaru shook his head and rubbed his temples.

"It isn't exactly the same thing, but I'm assuming that you've heard of the term 'beginner's luck'? He's never been given proper training, so he's reaping the benefits of actually learning the proper basics for the first time. Of course he's improving quickly" he said. Hinata grumbled a bit.

"Be that as it may, I deserve the improvement more. I break my back day in and day out for this, and he can't say the same. He works hard, but not in the same way" she said sulkily. In a rare moment of anger, Shikamaru's hand shot forward and seized the front of her shirt, pulling her forward several feet until their faces were inches apart.

"Oh, that's just _rich. _You want to talk about working hard? Just read between the lines. You see him every single morning at our group sessions, and you watch him train at night from the looks of things. Do you think he just sits around all day? He trains _nineteen hours per day_. He 'breaks his back' for this even more than you do, _princess_" he hissed angrily. He then released her and pushed her back. Hinata regained her balance quickly and glared at him.

"I've never liked you much, Hinata, but I figured you were above petty jealousy. Fix that problem if you want either my or Naruto's respect. You've almost got Naruto's, but you might lose it if you keep thinking the way you do" he said as he turned to walk away. Before he could fully exit the training field, he glanced back over his shoulder once more.

"Look, I care about the guy, and I think you do too. I watch him progress and I feel a sense of second-hand pride. You should experience the same feeling while watching him" he said as he faded into the distant night. Hinata watched him for several moments before wheeling around and returning to her previous viewing position.

'Even if you're right, Nara-san, I'll still use the exams to show you both why the future of the village's largest clan falls to me, and not you'

* * *

Naruto stretched as he walked through the streets of Konoha. It was roughly noon, and Kakashi had decided to grant him an unusual day off for unknown reasons. The Chunin exams were now eight days away, and the blonde had made substantial progress in most areas of combat, save for genjutsu, which he was completely hopeless at.

'Genjutsu is stupid. It doesn't make any sense. I won't really be needing it anyways, so it doesn't really matter in the end' he thought to himself as he walked along. After a few minutes of travel, he came across a fascinating sight.

'Is that...Konohamaru?' Naruto wondered as he watched the Hokage's grandson be dragged along by a girl around the same age as him. She had long brown hair, a hard facial expression, and pale, lavender colored eyes. The Jinchuuriki immediately recognized the girl from the Hyuga estate, where he had seen her twice.

'A Hyuga is torturing you too, Konohamaru? I guess it's in their blood' he thought to himself humorously. He then jogged his way over to the academy students, gaining their attention with his rapid approach.

"Boss! You've gotta help me! She's insane!" Konohamaru, who was still being pulled towards an unknown destination by the Hyuga girl. The girl glared at him and yanked harder on the arm she was latched onto.

"Silence, Konohamaru-san. You said that you would have lunch with me, and I will not allow you to go back on your word" she said sternly as she dragged him. Konohamaru shook his head and struggled harder.

"I told you I was hungry. I never said anything about eating with you!" he corrected frantically. Naruto struggled to suppress his laughter as he watched the children bicker.

"Man, I know how you feel. You may as well give up, kid. Hyuga woman are more than a little stubborn" he suggested. The remark earned him a glare from the girl.

"Don't generalize, Uzumaki-san. Yours and Konohamaru-san's experiences with myself and my sister are outliers, not the mean. Besides, I am far more aggressive and socially confident than Hinata-nesan has ever been" she snapped. The Jinchuuriki frowned.

"Wait, you're Hinata's sister?" he asked skeptically. The girl quit pulling on Konohamaru and nodded.

"Yes, my name is Hanabi Hyuga. Before you ask, I know who you are through my sister, whom you have greatly affected in recent weeks" she replied. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"You make it sound like she talks about me" he said. Hanabi giggled and seized Konohamaru, who had silently been trying to slip away amidst the exchange of words, by the back of his collar.

"Oh, yes, she had mentioned you by name several times. She speaks quite...favorably of you, in case you were wondering" she said. The Jinchuuriki chuckled.

"That's a surprise. I think she's mad at me right now. Not sure why, but she was glaring at me a lot during our morning exercises" he said. Hanabi sighed and locked Konohamaru in a full-nelson to prevent any more movement from him.

"Do not worry. He ire has little to do with you as a person" she said vaguely, earning a questioning look from the blonde.

"Could you stop trying to bend me into a pretzel, Hanabi?! It hurts!" Konohamaru whined as he was held in place by the Hyuga girl.

"Then quit running away. Do that, and I will gently lead you along towards our destination" Hanabi said. The Hokage's grandson grumbled to himself a bit before nodding and relaxing, prompting the Hyuga girl to release him from the painful grip and settle beside him.

"What do you mean her being mad at me has nothing to do with me as a person?" Naruto asked skeptically. Hanabi shrugged and began to pull Konohamaru along once more.

"Ask her yourself. Although, I doubt you'll get a straight answer. She can be difficult that way" she called over her shoulder before rounding a corner with her begrudging companion in tow. The Jinchuuriki stared in the direction they had walked for several moments before chuckling and turning to walk to Ichiraku's

'No thank you. I don't have a death wish'

* * *

Kakashi Hatake was, generally speaking, a man of excellent manners. He kept his elbows off the table, he cleaned his plate properly, he held the door for women when the opportunity arose, and he used proper honorifics when the situation called for them. Today, however, he was far too tired to bother with something as trivial as etiquette. This lack of social energy was demonstrated quite clearly when he simply walked into Hiruzen's office, completely uninvited, without knocking.

The sight within was unexpected, to say the least, as the Hokage's nose was buried in an identical, orange-covered book to the one Kakashi read daily. The two men stared at each other for several moments before they came to a silent agreement to forget that either one of them had seen or heard of such literature.

"What brings you here, Kakashi?" the Hokage asked politely. The jonin sighed and sat himself down in a chair across from the old man at his desk.

"I have an unusual request regarding the Chunin exams" he said, earning a look of interest from the ancient Kage.

"Oh? And what kind of request is it? I'm in a pleasant mood, so I may be able to grant it if it isn't too ludicrous" he asked curiously. Kakashi gathered his words for a moment before speaking.

"Should my team make it through the Forest of Death, which both you and I expect them to do fairly easily, would it be at all possible for you to set a match in stone for the preliminary matches?" he asked. Hiruzen stroked his bearded chin and narrowed his eyes.

"Before I confirm or deny this request, tell me what match you would like to ensure and why" he ordered firmly. Kakashi remained silent for several moments before following the order.

"I want you to ensure that Naruto and Hinata fight during the exams" he said. The Hokage nodded and motioned for him to continue.

"As for why, I think it should be fairly obvious to you, Hokage-sama. They have differences to sort out" he said. Hiruzen frowned.

"Do they? From my vantage point, Hinata seems to be warming up to him considerably compared to where they were less than a month ago. Are you sure you want them fighting?" he asked skeptically. The silver haired ninja nodded.

"From Hinata's perspective, at least, problems need to be solved, and there's no other way to solve them than to let them hash it out in combat" he said. Hiruzen frowned once more.

"What have you seen to give you this idea?" he asked. Kakashi sighed.

"Where to begin…"

* * *

**A/N: Plot development! Gotta love it. Writing Hanabi's torture of Konohamaru was pretty fun too. Hope you all enjoyed!**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	16. A Chilling Premonition

**A/N: You know what I enjoy doing? Drinking and eating unhealthy things while writing fanfiction like the degenerate I am. Let's do that now.**

**Time for chapter 16**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_"Fight back, damn it!_ _Don't just gawk at me! Give me what I want! Is it that hard to understand, you pathetic simpleton?!" a horned girl screamed, her teeth bared to reveal a set of fangs. Naruto, whose eyes were crimson with slitted pupils, clenched his jaw and ducked down to avoid a kick aimed for the side of his head. The blonde then planted his feet and returned fire with a hard punch to the left side of her jaw that sent the girl tumbling backwards._

_ "That's better. Now keep that up. We aren't finished yet" the girl hissed as she rubbed her bruised jawline. The blonde looked on in a confused haze as he was attacked again and again by the girl, who he couldn't quite identify. Her movements bore similarities to something Naruto had seen before, but they were much more feral and aggressive. As he retreated away from her, her features became more and more clear._

_ The more visible the specific details of her face and figure became more recognizable, the greater the confusion ravaging the Jinchuuriki. Despite the obvious answer being presented to him as to her identity, it took another two minutes of frantic combat for Naruto to catch sight of something that forcibly confirmed his fears._

_ In the center of the black sclera encompassing her eyes, was a pair of pale lavender irises. The Jinchuuriki's eyes widened and his body tensed, allowing his opponent to land flush with a palm strike to his chest. Naruto coughed up blood and dropped to his knees._

_ "H-Hinata…?" he sputtered as he struggled to breath properly. The demonic Hyuga scowled for a moment, but allowed a dark, sanguinary grin to spread across her black lips. She knelt down in front of Naruto and rested her forehead on his, the tips of her small horns digging into his skin under the weight of her skull._

_ "Something wrong, __**Naruto-kun**__? Do you feel like...giving up? If so...you're out of luck. I'm not done with you yet. Not nearly. We're going to have such fun together here, where nobody can hear you scream" she whispered in a smooth, almost hypnotic tone. _

_ Before Naruto could respond, his throat was seized by his teammate._

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he sat up straight in bed. His breathing was ragged, and his body was soaked with in a cold sweat. It had all been an awful nightmare. The Jinchuuriki flopped back onto his side and rubbed the side of his head.

'That...was a new one. Where the hell did that come from? Most of my dreams are about things that have actually _happened_. That definitely hasn't happened' he thought to himself as he repaired his badly compromised composure. He then sat back up again and sighed.

'And I have to see her face in... he thought, glancing to the left at his alarm clock as the thought formed completely.

'...four hours. Great, just great. At least she doesn't actually have horns. Not that they wouldn't be fitting right now. She's been so...edgy lately' the genin thought to himself as an image of his far-from-demonic teammate flashed into his mind.

'What's your problem, Hinata? One day, you're being about as close to friendly as you're capable of being, and the next you act like you'd rather eat dirt than be around me. You're so frustrating' he thought to himself. He then performed a mental comparison between the horned girl in his nightmare and the Hyuga heiress, sighing as he came to the same conclusion for both versions.

'You were still kind of hot as a demoness, which is really saying something. Honestly, you'd be really desirable if you were consistently likeable. Too bad you're about as reliably warm as a blizzard' he thought to himself somewhat humorously. The blonde then hopped off of his bed and stretched as he sensed that sleep would not come easily that night. He threw on a jacket and strapped on his sandals before making his way to his front door. Before he opened it, he checked his pockets and sighed when he realized they were empty.

He quickly jogged to his dining table and grabbed a kunai from its surface. He tucked the blade in his pocket and exited his apartment. He jogged down the stairs and leapt down to the ground, skipping the final four on his way down.

"For somebody who should be asleep, you're quite energetic"

Naruto froze and glanced over his shoulder. Leaning against the side of his apartment building was a very tired, but still quite amused-looking Hiashi Hyuga. The blonde stared at the man for several moments before asking the most obvious of questions given the situation.

"What are you doing outside my apartment? Don't you have clan head things to be doing? If we're both being honest with ourselves, you need the sleep more than I do" he asked skeptically. The Hyuga clan head sighed and stepped out into the light of the street lantern that illuminated the street.

"Under any other circumstances at any other time, I wouldn't be caught dead outside of your dwelling. Not because I strongly dislike you, but because of the image I must maintain. You understand all too well, I know" he replied tiredly. The Jinchuuriki chuckled.

"What are the circumstances that make tonight an exception? I'm honestly dying to know" he asked curiously. Hiashi smiled tiredly.

"Do you really want to know the answer? Because it will both shock you and make you very uncomfortable" he replied. Naruto raised an eyebrow and motioned for the Hyuga man to continue. The clan head rubbed sleep from his eyes and stood up straighter.

"Hinata sent me out to watch you until at least one in the morning. She had studies to attend to, so she simply did not have the time tonight to do it herself. I, for the first time in six months, had a night of free time. So, taking advantage of the fact that I had not yet drank the herbal tea that allows me to sleep at night, she demanded that I do it instead" he explained. The Jinchuuriki frowned.

"And you listened to her because...why?" he asked skeptically, clearly confused by the series of events that had just been explained to him. Hiashi shrugged.

"If I am to be honest, I have no idea. Maybe it's because I expected this to be much more interesting than it has been. I don't know how Hinata manages to entertain herself three nights out of the week, but her methods have eluded me" he replied. The Jinchuuriki studied the response carefully, becoming more and more concerned as he took it apart.

"I have several questions" he said. Hiashi grinned and motioned for the excitable genin to continue speaking.

"First of all, you're making it sound like she comes out her and watches me _sleep_ three times per week. Does she do that? And if she does, _why_?" he asked. The Hyuga clan head nodded.

"She does. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, she leaves her bedroom nine o'clock sharp to silently intercept you on your walk home. From there, she trails you until you enter your apartment. Then, she waits outside the building and watches you with her Byakugan until either midnight or one o'clock. As for why she does it, it's her very, _very_ unconventional way of showing you that she cares" he explained. Naruto frowned.

"If you hadn't come out here and told me that, I would have had no idea. If she wants to 'show me she cares', why doesn't she just be nice to me on a regular basis? That would be a _much_ better way to do it than stalking me" he asked. Hiashi sighed.

"Hinata is not, and never will be good at expressing positive emotions coherently. She chose this method because she has absolutely no clue how to actually be your friend, or more than that if she ever wishes to be. Even her sister, Hanabi, is substantially better at such things, and her only friend is terrified of her due to her incredibly aggressive approach to attempted courtship" he said. Naruto stifled a laugh as he recalled the scene he had witnessed between his young friend and the aggressive Hyuga.

"That all makes sense, I guess. My one problem with it is that she's been even more volatile than usual lately. She refuses to talk to anybody, especially me. Any idea what her problem is?" he asked. The elder Hyuga shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. It has little to do with you, for the most part. She is merely frustrated with herself, and she is using you as a scapegoat. It will come to pass in due time" he said. Naruto nodded and yawned.

"I will be leaving now. Sleep well, Uzumaki-san. The Chunin Exams begin in four days time, and I fully expect you to perform excellently" Hiashi said as he turned and walked away. The blonde watched the clan head disappear into the night and sighed.

'No matter how nice he is to me, I can never shake the feeling that I'm being tested every time we talk'

* * *

Hinata growled as she picked herself up from the blood-stained mats of the Hyuga Estate's dojo. Across the mat stood the culprit who had knocked her to the ground, Neji Hyuga. Despite their placements in different cells, they had been ordered to spar one another regularly in preparation for the upcoming exams.

"Rise quickly, Hinata-sama. We still have much to do today" Neji ordered from across the room. The Hyuga girl spit blood out of her mouth and re-assumed her stance, prompting her cousin to take a step forward and extend a hand, a silent invitation to attack. She obliged and leapt forward with a flurry of palm strikes, all of which were either blocked or parried by Neji. As she took a step to recreate space, Hinata was kicked cleanly on the right side of the base of her neck, deadening her nervous system momentarily and sending her crashing to the mat again.

"Calm down. You're being far too openly aggressive. This isn't like you, Hinata-sama" the Hyuga boy said as his cousin struggled to her feet once more.

"Then let me work this aggression out of my system" Hinata said as she steadied herself. Before Neji could respond, he was forced to pivot around another blitz from the heiress. The Hyuga girl quickly rebounded from her missed strike and pursued the boy across the mats once more, running face first into a stiff punch from her cousin.

"As I said, you're being sloppy. I will simply continue to counter you if you don't calm down. Getting hit will only anger you further, so try not to run yourself into my strikes" Neji said as he leaned his head back to avoid a high kick from Hinata. As her foot sailed past his face, the heiress pushed off of her planted leg, landing several feet away from Neji.

She took several deep breaths and slowly dropped into a less rigid stance. Her cousin nodded in approval and charged forward to engage her. The pair then began to exchange leads and counters in a rhythmic dance of taijutsu.

"Would you mind telling me what has you so perturbed, Hinata-sama?" Neji asked as her countered a left-handed palm strike from his cousin with a hard elbow to her forehead. Upon recovering from the counter and returning fire, Hinata shook her head.

"It's none of your concern, Neji-san. My personal trials and tribulations are exactly that. _Personal" _she replied as she planted a hard palm strike in Neji's stomach. The Hyuga boy doubled over momentarily, but quickly snapped to attention and kicked out one of Hinata's legs, forcing her to take a knee momentarily.

"Is that so? If you won't tell me yourself, would you mind if I took a guess as to what has you so very irritated?" he asked as the heiress climbed to her feet. Hinata raised an eyebrow and re-entered the fray with a palm strike that was blocked.

"Go right ahead. Even if you guess correctly, you have nothing to gain from the information" she pointed out as she was grazed by a cutting strike to the right side of her face.

"In that case, I'll put my intuition to the test. Would the emotion at the center of your ever-present whirlwind of negativity happen to be...jealousy of some kind?" he asked, earning a high kick that he was barely able to block from his cousin.

"Not jealousy, Neji-san, but indignation. Indignation at the cruel and unfair reality that was forcibly demonstrated to me several nights ago. Something you should understand quite well" she replied. Neji chuckled and snapped her head back with a sharp punch.

"Why must you always try to drag others down into your own pitfalls? You have a team of good people behind you, and yet you still cling to your petty arrogance. They deserve better, you know" he said. The heiress snorted and wiped blood from her nose before stepping into range and striking him twice on either side of his ribs with her palms, eliciting a grunt of pain from her cousin.

"Is it arrogance when it's rooted in a system that has been in place for generations? If a system has stood the test of time, then that means it is _working_. Why would I give my respect to those beneath me?" she snapped. Neji shook his head and tripped her again, this time in such a way that her head would collide with his knee as she dropped to the ground.

"You've already shown one member of your team more respect than you've ever shown me. You readily admitted upon your return from the Land of Waves that you wept for Naruto Uzumaki as he lay dying in your arms after paying the ultimate price for you. Beyond that, you oh-so-elegantly stalk him from the shadows for the sake of your own worries. You may not want to admit it, but you respect him, and possibly only him, greatly. In fact, based on the state of the kitchen the past few mornings, you feel some degree of attachment to him" he said. Hinata sighed and stood up to her feet, rubbing the side of her head that had fallen onto her cousins knee.

"Why must everybody in this family be so gluttonous?" she muttered in reference to Neji's comment about the kitchen. She then turned her attention back to Neji.

"Maybe I have developed some level of respect for Naruto-san, but he is still not my equal. Should he prove to be such a thing, then I will...make arrangements" she said before stepping into her stance once more. Her cousin silently chuckled.

'If you're anything like myself, you will strongly dislike the feeling of being matched by a clanless shinobi'

* * *

**A/N: There ya go, folks. More Neji scenes. I hope this gave you more of an insight into his personality in this version of the story. Tell me what you thought of the chapter!**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	17. Looming Threat

**A/N: It's been a hot minute since the two halves of this fic's eventual whole have interacted, so let's make some of that ice-cold NaruHina magic happen, shall we?**

**Time for chapter 17**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto groaned tiredly as he peeled himself from his couch and walked towards his front door, which was being knocked on. It was nine-thirty at night, and the blonde had fallen asleep on his couch roughly three hours previously. His nightly session with Kakashi had been cancelled due to another set of unknown reasons.

"Coming, coming. Give me ten seconds, would you?" Naruto called as he tiredly walked to his door. Upon reaching it, he threw it open and sighed heavily at who awaited him on the other side.

"Oh, so you finally got sick of watching from the outside bench? Are you gonna sit by my bedside now?" he asked sluggishly, a hint of irritation in his voice as he gave Hinata, who stood at his doorstep, a bored look. The Hyuga girl was carrying a stack of books and several pencils, and if the subtle scent of lavender surrounding her was any indication, she was freshly showered.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, her tone defensive and face red. Naruto shook his head and gestured to the scholarly material stacked in her arms.

"Oh, save it. We both know what I'm talking about. Enough about that. What are you doing here, and why are you loaded with books?" he asked. Hinata quickly recollected herself and stepped into his apartment without an invitation.

"The exams begin tomorrow, and while much of the testing is combat-based, one particular section is always a written test. I trust Nara-san's family to prepare him, but I don't trust you to study on your own. As such, I will be helping you study" she explained as she turned on the lights in the room and set the materials down on his dining table. The Jinchuuriki rubbed his eyes and trudged back to the table.

"Good luck with that. There's a reason I hardly ever passed our written tests in the academy" he said as he sat down across from the Hyuga girl. Hinata shrugged and launched a pencil at him point-first, forcing him to reflexively catch it before it could remove one of his eyes.

"For all of your...frustrating traits, I don't think you're stupid. I think you probably could have passed those tests had you felt compelled to prepare" she said. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the near-compliment.

"I made a decision early on that I wasn't going to put effort into anything that wouldn't matter in the long run. Studying wouldn't have done me any good. The stuff they teach academy isn't applicable anyway" he said. Hinata nodded in agreement.

"Very true. As a person who has been trained in taijutsu from a young age, I can confirm that the hand-to-hand combat they teach is utter rubbish. I never paid much attention to the lectures, as much of it was worthless information. My scores were always excellent, but never perfect for that reason" she said.

"Do you know what's going to be on this test?" Naruto asked skeptically. The Hyuga heiress shook her head and spread the four books and three scrolls she had brought across the table.

"No, but with all of this material, we should be able to educate you on just about anything the test-makers might throw your way. I have been steadily reading this throughout the last three weeks, so I have already absorbed most of the information. All you're going to need is a serviceable level of proficiency in each topic" she explained. Naruto scratched the back of his head as he began to fully comprehend the sheer amount of information contained within each collection of text.

"You really might be wasting your time. I don't remember things very well, and it's already late at night" he said. Hinata tilted her head to one side, the slightest hint of a smile on her face.

"Tell me, Naruto-san. How many hours of sleep would you like to enter tomorrow's testing with?" she asked innocently. Naruto frowned.

"I don't know. Eight maybe" he replied, unsure of his teammates intentions. The Hyuga girl nodded and unfurled one of the scrolls.

"In that case, shut up and start taking notes, because you aren't going to bed until I am satisfied with your memorization of this material" she said, tapping on the now-open scroll as she spoke. The Jinchuuriki snorted and twirled his pencil.

"What if I just get up and go to bed? Are you going to attack me in my own home?" he asked semi-seriously. Hinata gave him a hard stare and began looking over the scroll she had unfurled.

"If I must. The more likely scenario is that I would simply force my way into your bedroom and obnoxiously read the text out loud to you. I would make your ears bleed until you came to your senses and returned to this table. Don't test me, Naruto-san. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, as they say" she said. Naruto shuddered at the thought and put his pencil to the paper that had been given to him. The pair then began to study. It was a slow, arduous, and incredibly, unbearably boring process, but the blonde slowly absorbed the information as time went on.

"Why are you helping me, Hinata? This doesn't make much sense if we're comparing this to how you've been acting during the morning sessions" Naruto asked after roughly fifteen minutes of studying. The Hyuga girl glanced up from her notes and remained silent for several moments.

"I have heard that if one member of a team fails the written test, the entire cell is disqualified. I cannot and will not allow that to happen. This is merely a precautionary measure to ensure the passing of Team Seven" she said, her face and tone unreadable. Naruto nodded.

"That makes sense. It lines up with the bad attitude you've had lately. Thanks for being consistent for once, Hinata" he replied sarcastically. Hinata scowled at him.

"Just because I take my training seriously doesn't mean that I have a bad attitude. I simply do not wish to speak with either your or Nara-san any more than I have to" she explained irritatedly. The Jinchuuriki maintained eye-contact despite her glare.

"When did that change? You may not have been all that uplifting to talk to before, but you were willing to talk. Also, I don't appreciate you treating me like a liability, which is exactly what this feels like" he said. The Hyuga heiress' glare intensified at his words.

"Have you ever considered that perhaps you are one by some metrics?" she snapped. The moment she had finished the sentence, her face paled and one of her hands slapped over her mouth. Naruto stared at her silently for several moments.

"I don't understand you. You say all of these hurtful things, and then you look like somebody just murdered a kitten right in front of you. What's with you? If your own words bother you so much, don't say them" he said. The Hyuga heiress pursed her lips and lowered her eyes to the table. After another five minutes of silent studying, Naruto spoke once more.

"And to answer your question, yes. Yes I have" he said quietly. Hinata glanced up from the table briefly and took a deep breath.

"I...apologize. I stepped out of line. Forgive me, Naruto-san" she said, clearly hating every word that was leaving her mouth. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"An apology? Not something I thought I'd ever here from you. Either way, it's fine. Don't worry about it. Just you actually saying you're sorry is enough. I don't get that out of people much, as you probably could have guessed" he said with a depressive chuckle. The rigidness in the Hyuga girl's postured lessened somewhat at his words.

"G-good. In that case, we should continue studying. There is still much to do" she said, still embarrassed by her previous outburst. The Jinchuuriki grinned at her still-somewhat-frazzled demeanor.

"Man, for all of your smoothness as a talker, you get shaky pretty easily. Keep that up. It's really endearing" he said humorously. Hinata turned red and gave him a confused look.

"Do you know what the word 'endearing' means, Naruto-san?" she asked quietly. The blonde shook his head, much to her relief and subtle disappointment.

"Nope. I've just heard you use it to make fun of me before. I also heard your sister use it when she was talking to Konohamaru. Seemed like a good word, so I'm going to use it now" he said matter-of-factly. Hinata allowed a ghost of a smile to form on her face.

'Go right ahead, Naruto-kun. Use it as much as you would like'

* * *

Shikamaru sighed as he and his teammates waited silently in a hall full of genin. They were in the building in which they would be taking the written section of the Chunin Exams. They had been forced to navigate a genjutsu to reach the place they were currently standing. They had an enormous advantage due to Hinata's Byakugan, so the illusion had been simple to find a way around.

'We get here at six in the morning, solve the puzzle, and then we find out that the test doesn't start until seven-thirty. Typical' the shadow user thought to himself sulkily. He glanced around him at the other genin. The entirety of teams eight and ten were in attendance, as well as another team that contained Neji, a boy in a jumpsuit, and a girl who was filing her nails with a kunai. Beyond the genin of Konoha, there were teams from various other villages. From Suna to Kusa, the selection of nationalities was quite varied.

'I forget how big an event this is sometimes. Everybody but Kumo is here' Shikamaru thought to himself. He then looked to his teammates, who were leaning on opposite walls of the hallway. The lazy genin chuckled at one specific detail of the sight.

'You aren't slick, Hinata. Staring at the floor with your Byakugan active is kind of a dead give away as to what you're really looking at' he thought humorously. He then focused on Naruto for a moment.

'...and he's totally oblivious. Lucky you, Hinata' he thought, stifling a laugh as he watched his aloof teammate silently, subtly stare at the Jinchuuriki. Shikamaru glanced up at the clock on the wall and sighed. It was only six-thirty, which meant that there was still an hour until the beginning of the written test.

'I might as well walk around a little. My knees are going to snap if I just stand in place' he thought to himself. The shadow user then said a brief set of goodbyes to his teammates and began wandering the genin-infested halls.

'What an odd bunch of people. All shapes and sizes' he thought to himself as he observed his fellow genin. As he looked around, his focus shifted from hall in front of him to the people standing against the wall. It was this that caused him to run into a boy who was walking in the opposite direction.

'Second time this month that I've run into somebody' he thought to himself as he regained his lost balance. He then looked to the boy he had run into. He was fairly short and had red hair. He also had a strange gourd strapped to his back. The most striking thing about him was the incredibly defined circles under his eyes, which made his unflinching stare even more unnerving.

"Sorry about that. I wasn't paying attention" Shikamaru said somewhat nervously. The redhead remained silent, unblinking as he attempted to stare a hole in the shadow user's skull.

'Oh, so that's how it is. Fine, I'll have a staring contest with you, prick' the lazy genin thought to himself as he returned the blank glare. The boys stood in tense silence for several moments before they were interrupted by a girl with a fan.

"Leave him be, Gaara. Don't waste your energy" she said, pulling him back as she spoke. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and began to walk through opening the girl had created for him in the middle of the hall. Before he could pass the pair completely, the girl's hand shot out and seized his arm.

"Do you have a death wish?" she asked quietly. The shadow user glanced at her out of the corner of his eye without turning his head.

"Does he?" he asked. The girl stared at him for a moment before letting go of his arm and allowing him to pass. She kept her eyes on him as he walked down the hall. Shikamaru, once he was out of her earshot, sighed and shook his head.

'This is why I don't wake up early. I get mouthy'

* * *

Temari turned her attention back to Gaara for the first time in several minutes. The redhead was also staring in the direction the Konoha genin had walked. His facial expression was unreadable as it always was, save for the nearly imperceptible smile tugging at his mouth.

"How long does he have?" she asked, well aware of what was likely circulating through the boy's demented mind. To her surprise, Gaara shook his head and chuckled.

"That depends. I like him" he replied, shocking his sister further. Temari furrowed her eyebrows.

"What? What makes him any different?" she asked skeptically. The redhead allowed a bit of sand to leak from his gourd and fall to the floor.

"He has a spine. A rare trait these days. I'm going to very much enjoy ripping it from his body. Oh, how satisfying that will be" he replied. Temari shuddered at his brutally casual words. Such topics were discussed a disturbing amount within their family, but she had never truly grown accustomed to it.

"There's a lot of people here. More than I thought there would be" she commented as she glanced around at the crowd that populated the crowd. Gaara nodded.

"By the time we reach the combat-oriented section of this exam, there will be less than thirty people. I guarantee it" he said. Temari chuckled.

"Who do you think will still be there?" she asked curiously. The redhead thought for a moment before gesturing to Team Eight and Team Ten.

"The team that the boy I just ran into hails from, and those two teams. Unlike most of the ninja here, they actually have detectable chakra" he said. The fan wielding kunoichi studied the groups for a moment and looked back down the hall.

'You just picked a fight you can't win, whoever you are'

* * *

**A/N: Gaara is more or less the same guy as he was in part one, but I've changed his demeanor a little. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	18. Hit List

**A/N: We all love written tests, don't we? Kidding, kidding. Such things are some of the most universally hated activities ever conceived.**

**Time for chapter 18**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto stretched and sat himself down behind a desk as the rest of the genin entered the testing hall. It was seven twenty-eight, and the test was about to begin. As the children all took their seats, all of them taking chairs a fair distance from their teammates as per the rules. Naruto was seated next to a ninja from Kusagakure while Hinata was seated next to a boy wearing a green jumpsuit. Shikamaru was seated on the other side of the room next to a girl from Suna who appeared to speaking to him sternly.

After exactly two minutes of waiting, a large man entered the room packed with genin. The moment he had situated himself at the front of the room, every ninja in the room became silent. The man's presence was intimidating in and of itself, but his appearance was no help. He was tall, broad, and his face was scarred.

"Good, most of you showed up. Now we can get started. My name is Ibiki Morino, and I will be your proctor for this phase of the exam. You will be given exactly ninety minutes to complete a comprehensive, nine question test. Cheating of any kind will be punished with disqualification should you be caught. With all of that out of the way, we're going to get started right away. We don't have all day" he said. Many of the children in the room audibly swallowed nervously.

'What did you guys expect? This was never going to be as simple as just looking at the person next to you's paper. That little speech was an invitation. Let's see how many of you take it' Naruto thought to himself with a chuckle. Ibiki then passed out the test questions. As the papers circulated the room, the once-confident faces of the genin fell. The proctor smirked to himself as he observed their reactions. It appeared that he had expected such a reaction from the new crop of ninja.

"Now then, you all have your testing materials, so you may begin. The timer starts now" Ibiki announced to the room. Pencils then began to hit paper at a rapid pace. Interestingly, and somewhat predictably, the sound of pencil-on-paper became much fainter after roughly thirty seconds. Within the first minute of ninety, the majority of the genin were already perplexed by the set of questions in front of them. Naruto looked over each individual question and sighed.

'Yup. Just like I thought. I have no idea what any of this means. Guess I was right, Hinata' he thought to himself as he glanced to his teammates. What he saw put a smile on his face. The Hyuga heiress was wearing a knowing smirk as she steadily wrote down answer after answer. Her Byakugan were active and her eyes were glued to her own paper.

'Clever girl. Looks like you found a reliable source. I'm almost proud of you' Naruto thought to himself. He then turned his attention back to his own paper.

'I've gotta find my own way around this. I don't have any special powers to cheat with, so I've got to be creative' he thought to himself. Just as the thought crossed his mind, a genin was called by Ibiki.

"Ryo Takahata, pack your things and leave. Take your team with you" the proctor called from the front of the room. The genin sitting next to Naruto shot up out of his seat, a look of shock and terror on his face.

"What?!" he exclaimed. Before he could continue to speak, Ibiki shot him a hard glare that left no room for further debate. The boy lowered his eyes to the floor and lead two other angry genin out of the room. Over the next several minutes, four more teams were eliminated due to various forms of cheating.

'This is just brutal. Anybody without some weird ability is going to get caught right away. This sucks' Naruto thought in frustration. As he sulked, his body was seized by and invisible force.

'What the hell?' the blonde thought frantically. His eyes darted around the room until he spotted Shikamaru, who gave him a subtle nod. As the shadow user nodded, Naruto did as well, allowing him to view the floor momentarily. Shikamaru had connected their shadows together.

'Thanks, Shikamaru' Naruto thought gratefully as his hand began to move across his paper. After two minutes, his test was completed. Naruto's body was then released from the jutsu, allowing him to better observe his answers.

'They all look reasonable. Probably not one-hundred percent correct, but better than I could have come up with' he thought to himself, relief washing over him. He then put his pencil down and waited. Unfortunately for the blonde, Shikamaru's tactics had not only solved his answer problem, but it had also left him with far more free time than was ideal. Only twenty minutes had passed, meaning that seventy still remained. Naruto sighed and scratched the side of his face as he looked around the room.

'Shikamaru is finished, and it looks like Hinata is too. Our team should pass this no problem. As for everybody else…' he thought. He observed the rest of the room for a moment before chuckling to himself.

'...they're drowning in their own stress. Great. Well, except for the redhead, the guy with the makeup, and the chick sitting next to Shikamaru' he thought to himself humorously. Slowly but surely, the seventy minutes passed, with only one more team being eliminated during the long stretch.

"Pencils down and mouths shut. Your written exam is nearly complete" Ibiki called as the buzzer on the timer went off. After silencing the obnoxious ringing sound, the proctor stood up from the chair he had been sitting in and looked around the room.

"As many of you may have likely noticed, nine questions is an unusual number for such a major assessment. To the relief of many of you detail-oriented brats, there is, in fact, a tenth question. Would you like to hear it?" he asked. A murmur rippled through the remaining genin.

"Choose your answers carefully. Should you answer this question incorrectly, you will not only be disqualified immediately without the rest of your test being graded, but you will also be banned from the Chunin Exams indefinitely. No retakes. Either you take the chance this year, or you cut your losses and study up for next year. Take your pick" Ibiki cut in through the muttering. There was a minute of silence following his words.

Eventually, a boy stood up and walked out of the testing room, signifying his desire to 'cut his losses', as Ibiki had put it. Several other participants soon followed him. After another three minutes of tense silence, Ibiki nodded in approval and turned his attention back to the remaining ninja.

"Congratulations. You have all passed the first phase of the Chunin Exam. You may celebrate if you wish" he said jovially. Naruto did a double take and raised his hand.

"Wait, you haven't even asked us the tenth question yet. How have we been passed?" he asked skeptically. The other genin nodded in agreement and looked to the proctor for an explanation. Ibiki's grin widened.

"I did ask the question. The question was whether or not you wanted to take the chance of answering it. You gave me your answers loud and clear when you stayed in your seats. Being a Chunin is less about knowledge than mentality. You were all willing to risk your future to advance your immediate goals. An admirable trait, and exactly what we're looking for in a promotion-worthy genin" he explained. The group all nodded in understanding and took the proctor's previous suggestion, celebrating amongst themselves.

Naruto stood up from his seat and made his way to Shikamaru. He slapped hands with the lazy genin and grinned.

"Thanks for the help back there. I'd have been fried without it" he said gratefully. Shikamaru snorted and shook his head.

"No need to thank me. You wouldn't have needed those answers in the long run from the looks of it, and most of what I gave you was bullshit I made up anyways" he said. The Jinchuuriki raised an eyebrow.

"Did you know this would happen?" he asked curiously. The shadow user shrugged and yawned as he finally stood up from his desk.

"I had a hunch. My hunches tend to be right, so I decided to take it to the bank. Worked out pretty well for us this time" he said tiredly. The boys were then joined by Hinata, who looked quite pleased.

"Excellent work, you two. I was wondering how you would cheat. I had an easy solution, of course, so I had myself covered. I hadn't thought of your shadow possession being potentially useful, Nara-san" she complimented. Naruto grinned.

"You figured out the point of this whole thing real quick. Nice job, Hinata" he replied. The Hyuga girl smiled happily at the compliment and allowed her Dojutsu to manifest.

"These do come in handy every once in awhile. Multipurpose would be an understatement" she replied. Shikamaru immediately burst out laughing, earning a look of confusion from both Naruto and Hinata.

"Oh, don't mind me. Just remembering something I saw" he said. The genin continued to converse for several more minutes before a woman came crashing into the room. She had purple hair, and was generally quite wild-looking. As she climbed back to her feet after crashing into the opposite wall and falling over, Ibiki scratched the back of his head and sighed.

"You're late, Anko" he said tiredly. The woman, apparently named Anko, grinned and slapped him on the back.

"There's a lot of kids in here. You're getting soft, baldy" she goaded before turning to the group of genin. The proctor sighed once more.

"Save your insults for later. Just give your speech already" he said. Anko shrugged and began her speech.

"I'm not all that eloquent, but I'll get my point across to you little gremlins. You are to report to the Forest of Death at seven o'clock sharp tomorrow morning. Not before, not after. _Sharp. _Just a warning: some of you are going to see your first dead body in less than twenty-four hours" she said before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

"That was...unceremonious" Hinata said after several moments of silence. Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Well, at least she warned us before she really started talking" he said. The genin then began to drain out of the testing hall, eventually leaving only Team Seven.

"We should probably get going" Naruto said. His teammates nodded and followed him out of the room.

They had survived the first phase of the Exam, but greater, more intimidating challenges awaited them.

* * *

Shikamaru sighed tiredly as he stepped out of Ichiraku's stand. It was fairly late, and he was exhausted. His teammates were still eating their food, and they didn't appear to be close to done.

'Who knew Hinata had a comparable appetite to that slob. The more you know, I guess' he thought to himself as he leapt up onto the roof of a building to cut down on the time he would be forced to travel to reach his home. He then began to bound across the roofs one at a time. After several minutes, he stopped crossing buildings.

"Come on out. God, you suck at stalking" he called out. After a moment of silence, a figure stepped out from behind a freight box on the roof.

"Compared to who, exactly?" Temari, who had been quietly trailing the shadow user, asked skeptically. Shikamaru gestured back towards Ichiraku's.

"One of my teammates. She has an odd habit of following our teammate around at night. It's honestly pretty creepy" he explained. The sand kunoichi raised an eyebrow and stepped forward into the moonlight.

"You're an odd bunch. Blondie is strong as hell, the girl is apparently a stalker, and then there's you, a suicidal moron" she said. The shadow user snorted.

"Moron, huh? What's that make you then? You wouldn't have written anything down on the test if I hadn't helped you" he pointed out. Temari prickled slightly.

"I never asked for your help. I would have figured something out. I always do. Besides, you answers were stupid" she retorted. Shikamaru chuckled and gave her a smug grin.

"The answers didn't need to be any good. They didn't matter in the end. You just had to look like you were trying, which you didn't. Anybody with half a brain could have figured out what was really going on. Hell, Naruto figured it out, and he isn't the most cognitive person in the world" he said. The fan wielder furrowed her eyebrows.

"If you knew what was going to happen, why did you help me? You could have knocked my team out of the exams by leaving me to squirm and get desperate to cheat. What's in this for you?" she asked skeptically. Shikamaru shrugged.

"I'm a nice guy. I just adore helping people" he said with a sarcastic grin. Temari shook her head and produced a kunai, which she began filing her nails with.

"Somehow, I doubt that. Back on topic, you do realize just how badly you screwed up this morning, right?" she asked. The lazy genin thought back to the period before the testing had begun.

"All I did was stare him down a little. What's the problem? Can he not handle confrontation?" he asked. Temari sighed and put away her kunai.

"Not traditionally, no. He tends to...break things he doesn't like. People included. You just put yourself on his hit list, and you have no way to stop him if he decides to mash you up" she said. Shikamaru yawned.

"An angster, huh? Guess his hormones are out of control. I'm honestly more curious about why you're telling me all of this than your brother's temper tantrums" he said. The sand kunoichi mentally applauded the shadow user's sharp tongue, but kept her mouth shut while she gathered her thoughts.

"I'm telling you because I'd rather see you survive. Don't get the wrong idea, I could care less about whether you live or die during this Exam, but when Gaara wants somebody dead, he ignores situational rules. If he kills you outside of the combat-phase, I get in trouble by extension" she explained. The lazy genin nodded and hopped across an alley to the next building over.

"Thanks for the heads-up. I'll keep that in mind on my walks home. 'Night, whoever you are" he called as he bounded away. Temari sighed and shook her head as his form grew smaller and smaller in the distance.

'Poor schmuck has no idea what's coming'

* * *

**A/N: Next up is the forest arc, which I have some real fun scenes planned and pre-written for. Hope you all enjoyed this!**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	19. An Accursed Marking

**A/N: If y'all wanted to see some things change about the chunin exams, you're going to like this chapter quite a bit.**

**Time for chapter 19**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto yawned as he walked into the training field that contained the entrance to the so-called 'Forest of Death'. It was exactly seven o'clock, and he had stayed up fairly late the previous night. Despite his exhaustion, he had managed to arrive exactly one time alongside his teammates. It appeared that every team had arrived at the contracted time, as the entrance to the field was absolutely flooded with the remaining genin, thirty one in total.

"So, this is the Forest of Death. It looks quite ordinary to me" Hinata, who stood at Naruto's left, said. The blonde shook his head and glanced at his teammate.

"I don't think the forest itself is dangerous on its own. It's named for what happens when you throw a whole bunch of bloodthirsty genin inside. I did some research last night, and this phase of the exam is _screwed up_" he said. The Hyuga girl raised an eyebrow at his reply.

"What did you find out? I never took you as one to research" she asked skeptically. The Jinchuuriki shook his head again and gestured towards Anko, who stood at the gated entrance to the forest.

"She'll fill you in. it's about what you'd expect from a phase that takes place in 'The Forest of Death'. This is a little off topic, but how did you sleep?" he asked. Hinata responded by rubbing a bit of sleep from her eyes.

"Not well, if I am to be honest. My sleep was repeatedly interrupted by nightmares. Mostly of the coming days and what they may bring" she admitted. Naruto smiled at her uncharacteristic openness.

"The chances of all of us dying are pretty low. We'll all be fine, probably" he said. The Hyuga heiress sighed and gave him a tired look.

"Probably, hm? How comforting" she said sarcastically. The Jinchuuriki laughed out loud at her exhausted response, earning himself an elbow to the ribs from his teammate.

"Look alive, you two. I think she wants your attention" Shikamaru, who had been standing silently several feet away, said while gesturing to Anko. The pair turned their attention to the proctor, who was assessing the large group of children patiently.

"Well, it looks like you all followed my instructions. Good, you all have some sense. Now then, let me explain the wonderful activity you're all about to take part in" she began, quickly gaining the attention of any uninterested observers.

"You will all be entering this forest, we Konoha folk call it the 'Forest of Death'. Your goal is to collect scrolls. Two to be exact. One heaven scroll and one earth scroll will be required. Each of you will begin this phase with one or the other, meaning that you'll have to acquire your second scroll from one of your peers" she continued, presenting two different scrolls to the group. A muttering soon passed through the crowd, eliciting a smirk from Anko.

"And before one of you sadistic little psych patients asks, murder is permitted. Not recommended, but permitted. Now come on up and get a scroll" the proctor concluded. The genin then all flocked to Anko, with each team acquiring a scroll from her. After several minutes of organizing and acquisition, the crowd reassembled itself just outside of the gates.

"In the center of the forest, you'll find a tower. That's where you're trying to get to. Once again, you'll need both scrolls to get in, so don't even think about just waltzing in" Anko said. She then unlocked the gate and gestured towards the dark trees within.

"Get going, brats. Hope you packed a lunch" she said with a dark grin. The genin then set out into the forest, splitting off in a variety of different directions nearly immediately. Hinata, using her Byakugan, lead Team Seven northeast down what she perceived to be the least dangerous pathway.

"We're going to head this way for roughly two miles before we turn northwest. I have a hunch that we'll run into at least one party along the way that we can take an earth scroll from" the Hyuga girl said as they ran across the forest floor.

"And if we don't run into somebody?" Naruto asked. Hinata looked back over her shoulder and gave him a rare smile.

"In that case, we'll go hunting. We've all been training ourselves ragged in preparation for this. Think of it as a chance to show what you've learned. Hopefully, we'll be able to save our strength for the combat phase, though" she replied. Naruto returned the smile and looked to Shikamaru, who was staring straight ahead with a look of concern on his face.

"Something wrong?" the blonde asked, snapping the lazy genin out of his trance. Shikamaru glanced at him and shook his head before returning his gaze to the path ahead.

"No, everything's fine. Just taking it all in, you know?" he said. Hinata nodded and sighed sympathetically.

"I understand the feeling. What bothers me more than anything is the fact that murder is permitted. The fact that I may not only lose one of my teammates, but potentially my right to say I have never killed is distressing to me" she said. Naruto chuckled.

"Aw, look at that, Shikamaru. She _does_ care" he joked, earning a glare from the Hyuga heiress.

"Must you make a joke out of everything, Naruto-san?" she asked. The Jinchuuriki sighed and gave her a tired shrug.

"I'm just trying to...lighten things up a little. I'm stressed, too. We all are. Let's try not to think about what _could_ happen, and think about what we're doing _right now_" he said. Hinata nodded and returned her attention to the path they were slowly carving into the forest.

Despite their apprehension, nothing could have prepared them for the horrors they would experience in the god forsaken forest.

* * *

Gaara chuckled to himself as he watched Team Eight be terrorized by a strange, snake-like man. The group of genin had encountered the man roughly ten minutes previously, and they had nothing to offer him.

'Whoever he is, that man is not a genin. No, he's something far greater. I daresay he possesses more power than my own sensei' the redhead thought to himself as Shino was knocked unconscious after being launched into the base of a tree. Sasuke had been bitten by the strange man several minutes previously, and had lost consciousness as a result. The only member of Team Eight that was still conscious was Sakura, who was an incredibly weak combatant.

'Good riddance. Such weakness is appalling' Gaara thought to himself as the pink-haired girl was cornered. However, much to the redhead's surprise, the man did not end her life. Instead, he burst out laughing and vanished into a puff of smoke.

'How anticlimactic. Disappointing' Gaara thought to himself. As he watched Sakura tremble, a thought struck him.

'Temari and Kankuro have already gathered the scrolls, but...I think she deserves a punishment for her uselessness' he thought as he jumped down from his perch high up in the trees. He landed squarely in front of the girl, eliciting a terrified squeak from her.

"Lovely scenery in these parts, don't you think?" he said in a mockingly jovial tone as he knelt down in front of her. Sakura began to shake in his presence.

"W-what do you want?" she stuttered, clearly overwhelmed by fear and exhaustion. Gaara chuckled and slid an index finger under her chin, lifting her head and forcing her to meet his eyes.

"Where is your cell's scroll? I know it's here somewhere" he asked, his tone low and menacing. The pink-haired genin tried to scoot backwards, but was seized by the ankle by a tendril of sand.

"Don't try to run. I have no qualms about killing you, but I may just let you live if you tell me what I want to know. Does that sound reasonable to you?" Gaara asked. Sakura struggled to control her breathing for several moments, but eventually regained enough composure to speak.

"S-shino has the scroll. It's the earth scroll. I-is that what you need?" she asked nervously. The redhead smirked and stood up to claim his unneeded prize.

"Oh, the type of scroll doesn't matter" he said as he removed the scroll from Shino's unconscious body. He then turned back to Sakura, only to be greeted by a kunai flying towards his face. A wall of sand immediately came to his aid, effortlessly stopping the air-born blade in its tracks. The redhead shook his head and chuckled to himself.

"How foolish can you be? I meant it when I said I would let you live. Well, I suppose you know what comes next" he said as he slowly walked Sakura down. Before he could reach her, a stirring sound caught his attention.

"S-sasuke-kun?" Sakura said quietly. Gaara glanced over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. Standing roughly twenty feet away was Sasuke, who had risen up from the ground. His body was enveloped in a dark aura and strange markings were covering his skin.

'Fascinating' the redhead thought to himself as he turned to face the Uchiha fully. Sasuke's eyes were downcast and his posture was strange, but his presence was undeniably threatening.

"Sakura...take Shino and run away. Do it now" he said sternly. His teammate opened her mouth to protest, but shut it again when Sasuke turned his gaze up from the ground and glared at her. She quickly made her way to Shino and picked him up before laboring her way into the thick forestry. Gaara watched her leave for a moment before returning his attention to the Uchiha.

"You seem quite lively for somebody who has just awakened. Well, lively may not be the right word" he said. Sasuke did not respond. Instead, he took a step forward and drew a kunai. The redhead grinned sadistically and allowed his gourd to open fully and leak sand.

'I suppose I can spare a few minutes'

* * *

Hinata froze in her tracks as something entered her extended field of vision. Her sudden halt prompted her teammates to do the same, much to their confusion and mild irritation.

"What's wrong, Hinata?" Naruto asked as the Hyuga girl scanned the area around them carefully. She glanced over her shoulder and him and pursed her lips.

"Somebody is trailing us. I don't recognize them, and their chakra is absolutely overwhelming" she said somewhat nervously. Shikamaru then jogged his way to the front of their formation.

"That's one of two people. Either it's the redhead with the gourd, or it's...somebody I don't have a name for" he said, earning a look of confusion from both of his teammates.

"What do you mean, Nara-san? You sound as though you were expecting this" Hinata asked skeptically. The lazy genin sighed and glanced around.

"The guy with the gourd is named Gaara, and I think I might have pissed him off by accident. He's way too much for any of us. The other guy...well, I've been feeling something since we entered the forest. Just a sinking feeling that somebody is here that shouldn't be" he explained. Naruto nodded.

"Same with me. The fox has been a bit more talkative since we got here, and he mentioned something like that" he said. Hinata focused her vision further and strained to view the specific details of the figure following them.

"I can confirm that this man has no gourd, meaning that this is the person the two of you have been sensing. In which case, we should get moving. He'll be right on top of us in less than two minutes" she said.

"Less than two minutes? Well, you aren't quite _wrong, _but not quite right either"

Team Seven collectively tensed and all slowly glanced over their shoulders. Standing behind them, wearing a sickening, humorous grin was tall, long-haired man with pale white skin. He appeared to have fangs and was wearing a strange purple sash. While Naruto and Shikamaru did not recognize the strange man, Hinata, much to her own mental detriment, did.

"O-Orochimaru. The snake Sanin. What one earth is he…" she began before lapsing into silence. Despite not recognizing the man, Shikamaru recognized the name.

"This...isn't good. At all" he said tensely. Naruto began to sweat nervously at both the immense pressure being exuded by the man before them and the statements being made about him by his teammates.

"It appears my reputation precedes me. How flattering" Orochimaru said with a chuckle. He then took a step forward, prompting the genin to take a step in the opposite direction.

"To be honest, I thought it would take more than a shadow clone and chakra suppression to elude your Byakugan. The more you know, I suppose" he said as he slowly walked towards the children.

"What is it you want from us?" Naruto demanded, doing his best to hide his quickly growing fear of the Sanin. Orochimaru's gaze momentarily shifted towards Hinata.

"I've already done what I came here to do, but a backup plan is never a bad idea" he said vaguely. Despite the lack of clarity in his statement, the Jinchuuriki instantly understood who the Sanin was targeting. He drew a kunai and jumped in front of his teammate, barely intercepting Orochimaru's charge for the Hyuga girl. Unfortunately, the action resulted in Naruto being struck between the eyes with a stiff punch, buckling his knees and forcing him to rebalance himself.

"Protective, are we? How cute" the Sanin mocked as he towered over Naruto and Hinata. Before he could advance any further, Shikamaru's shadow merged with his and froze him in place. Orochimaru simply laughed at the jutsu being cast upon him.

"You are aware of the limitations of that jutsu, are you not?" he asked before effortlessly breaking free from the lazy genin's control. He then vanished from sight, reappearing in front of Shikamaru and slamming a knee into his solar plexus that knocked the wind out of the boy.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto yelled. Instead of continuing to strike the fallen Nara, Orochimaru returned his attention to the Hyuga and Jinchuuriki. He vanished once more, this time becoming visible again with his fist cracking across Naruto's jawline, dropping him to his rear end and concussing him. With Naruto incapacitated, Hinata was now defensless, as she stood no better a chance against the Sanin than the blonde had.

"Just relax and close your eyes. This won't take long" Orochimaru said smoothly as he slowly made his way towards the retreating Hyuga, who eventually stopped moving backwards and assumed a taijutsu stance.

"Still ready to fight, hm? Your courage is admirable, but you're wasting your energy. This isn't a fight you can win" the sanin said before blitzing forward and seizing her by her arms. He then sank his fangs into the side of her neck, eliciting a cry of pain from the Hyuga heiress. After a moment of painful screaming, Hinata went limp, prompting the Sanin to drop her.

"There. That wasn't so bad now was it?" he asked sarcastically. As he turned his attention back to Naruto, a bluish hue caught his eye.

'Is that what I think it is?' Orochimaru wondered to himself as Naruto charged towards him with a spiraling ball of blue chakra in the palm of his hand.

"Rasengan!" the blonde yelled as he thrust the orb of chakra towards the Sanin, his eyes glowing blood red and his pupils slitted. Before the jutsu could make contact with him, Orochimaru seized the Jinchuuriki by the wrist and flung him into a nearby tree, which was obliterated by the spiralling ball of energy.

"Quite an advanced jutsu for a genin. It's still unstable and I would assume it's quite taxing, but the fact that you can use the Rasengan at all is impressive" the Sanin complemented. Naruto forced himself to his feet and lifted the fallen tree, off of himself.

"Get away from her" he growled as he assumed a feral taijutsu stance. Orochimaru chuckled and stepped away from Hinata's unconscious body.

"I was already planning on it" he said. The moment the sentence left his mouth, the Sanin vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving a battle-ready and enraged Naruto alone with his knocked-out teammates. After taking several moments to comprehend what had just happened, the Jinchuuriki threw back his head and released a frustrated yell.

"Damn it!" he bellowed. He then slammed his fist into another nearby tree, putting a hole in its trunk with the impact of his fist.

"Should I come back later?"

Naruto whipped around to face the voice that had spoken. Standing at the edge of the clearing where he and his teammates had fought against the Sanin was Gaara, who looked quite amused.

"What the hell do you want?" the Jinchuuriki demanded. Gaara chuckled and stepped forward into the clearing, a thin veil of sand circling his body as he walked.

"Calm yourself. You don't want to be on my bad side. Unless you'd like to end up like Sasuke Uchiha" he said in a calm, confident tone. Naruto's eyes widened.

"What did you do to Sasuke?!" he snapped. The redhead waved a hand in a dismissive fashion.

"He's still alive, don't worry yourself. All I did was break half of the bones in his body" he said, clearly proud of his apparent bludgeoning of the Uchiha. The blonde growled and took a step forward.

"What about the rest of his team? Are they alive?" he asked. Gaara nodded and cracked his neck.

"Yes, they ran away at Sasuke's command. Cowards, the lot of them. People like you and I have no reason to concern ourselves with such people" he said. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. The redhead smirked and gestured towards the other members of Team Seven, who were still incapacitated.

"Look around you. They had nothing for that man. Neither did you, and neither would I had I chosen to engage him at any point, but you were at least capable of piquing his interest. Beyond our greater capabilities, we have something else in common" he said. Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"That being?" he asked skeptically. Gaara chuckled darkly and closed his eyes momentarily. When he re-opened them, they were gold in color.

"We both harbor a demon. Something far more powerful than ourselves. A final trump card. Those red eyes of yours and the aura you exude are a dead give away" he said. The blonde Jinchuuriki tensed slightly, but stood his ground.

"You're a Jinchuuriki too. Am I supposed to care? If you want a fight, I'm more than willing" he said as he assumed a taijutsu stance. Gaara chuckled and shook his head before producing a scroll.

"No, not here. We have no audience here to appreciate my painstaking efforts in tracking you down. I originally set out for your team in order to kill your male teammate, but after seeing you in action, my focus has shifted" he said. He then tossed the scroll he had produced to Naruto, who caught it easily. It was an earth scroll.

"Why are you giving me this?" he demanded. His fellow Jinchuuriki responded by turning around and beginning to walk away into the brush.

"To ensure your participation in the combat phase of this exam" he replied before vanishing. Naruto released the breath he had been holding and examined the scroll. It was authentic, and did not appear to be trapped.

'That solves the scroll problem, I guess' he thought to himself as he made his way to Shikamaru, who was still unconscious.

'That Orochimaru guy knocked you out cold with one shot to the ribs. That's...scary' he thought nervously as he moved his teammate into a more comfortable position. He then jogged over to Hinata. While checking he for injuries, he spotted something unusual.

There was a small, oddly-shaped tattoo on her neck.

* * *

**A/N: You know I had to do it. Felt like writing a longer chapter today, so that's what I did. Tell me what you all thought!**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	20. Needling Simplicity

**A/N: Angry as this might make some of you, I'm not editing chapter 19. If you don't like it, don't read it. Nobody's forcing you**

**Time for chapter 20**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Kakashi frowned to himself as he watched his students from afar. They were all within the tower that stood in the center of the Forest of Death, meaning that they had survived the second phase. They had made fairly good time considering what had occured in the forest. In fact, they had been the second of five teams to arrive. The majority of the teams that had survived the first phase of the exams had also survived the second phase.

'Even if they made it here physically alright, Naruto isn't in a great place, and Hinata is more than a little confused as to why she was marked. It just doesn't add up. Sasuke I can understand, but Hinata? What is he angling for?' the jonin wondered to himself. He then removed his forehead protector from his sharingan and focused it on Hinata's neck, where the mark had been left by Orochimaru.

'The chakra contained in that seal is nasty. It's nowhere near as bad as Sasuke's, but still not good' he thought to himself. As he considered the various trials and tribulations his team had encountered in the forest, he was joined by Anko.

"You're worried about the girl, aren't you?" she asked. Kakashi nodded and sighed heavily as he covered his sharingan once more.

"I know that there isn't much I could have done to prevent this, Orochimaru would have hung me out to dry even if I had somehow been there to help, but I still feel terrible. On top of that, Naruto's been beside himself since then" he said. Anko frowned.

"What do you plan to do about the curse mark? Think carefully" she asked. The silver haired ninja thought for a moment before replying.

"I should probably seal it myself. Both she and Sasuke, for that matter" he responded. To his surprise, Anko shook her head.

"If you want her to get her ass handed to her in the prelims, go right ahead. The sealing procedure will take a lot out of her. If Sasuke were healthy, I would agree with him being sealed, because he's strong enough from the get-go to handle one of the weaker genin in a compromised state. Hinata is stronger than a _few_ of the people here without access to her Byakugan, but not Naruto" she said. Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"You know about that, huh?" he said, earning a chuckle from the exam proctor. She sighed and looked out over to Team Seven, which seemed to be in the middle of a discussion.

"Why do you want them fighting each other, Kakashi? Be honest" she asked. Kakashi chewed the inside of his lip absently as he gathered his words.

"I won't go into detail, but a quiet, detrimental conflict has been raging between them for a few weeks now. Especially on Hinata's end. Honestly, I'm not all that sure Naruto is aware of what goes on behind that mask she wears. He's seen what lies beyond it a few times, but those occasions have done more to confuse him than anything else" he said. Anko frowned.

"And how would having them fight in front of an audience solve anything?" she asked skeptically. Kakashi shifted in place.

"They have differences to sort out, and an ego needs to be tamed. The only way to solve this problem once and for all is for them to blow off some steam. Sparring hasn't worked, and neither has competitive running. This wasn't my first choice, but I feel that it's necessary" he said. Anko remained silent for several seconds before speaking again.

"As a person who's been under the influence of the curse mark, I can tell you that this may actually make things worse. You aren't yourself, or, to be more exact, you're _too much_ yourself. Everything you bury, everything you hide from those around you, it all comes flooding to the surface. Beyond the natural energy, that's what fuels the seal. Raw, brutal emotion" she said. The silver haired ninja gave her a tired look.

"You know, it was _your_ suggestion that I not suppress the seal" he pointed out. The proctor shrugged and began to fidget with a kunai.

"You either let her fight and watch her use Naruto as a psychological punching bag, or you deal with the Hyuga Elders for weakening her. They _will _find out, and they won't see the logic. They're too damn proud for that" she said. Kakashi snorted.

"I can deal with those senile fools. They're about as threatening as a crippled house cat" he said bluntly. Anko launched the kunai she had been playing with into the ceiling.

"You may be able to, but Hinata can't. Those old coots will find a way to punish her for being 'weak' enough to let herself be marked in the first place" she said.

"Her father is a reasonable man. I doubt that would happen" Kakashi countered. Anko shrugged again and produced another kunai.

"Maybe, maybe not. The elders can override his wishes if they're in a bad mood. Is that a coin you want to flip?" she asked. The jonin considered her argument for a moment before turning to leave.

"No, it isn't. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go deal with Sasuke's mark" he said before vanishing in a puff of smoke. After a moment or two of silence, Anko looked back to Team Seven and frowned.

'At least one of your is going to become a chunin. Not sure who, but I do know one thing for sure. It's going to be ugly'

* * *

Naruto yawned as he dragged himself into the gathering area of the tower. The surviving teams had been given eight hours to sleep, and all those with any sense at all had taken the opportunity. The blonde had managed to sleep for six of the eight hours after taking two to fall asleep. Hinata had done much the same, but sleep had been instant for the Hyuga heiress. The only person on Team Seven that did not sleep was Shikamaru, who insisted on keeping watch while they slept despite the safety of their location.

"You might want to wake up a bit, Naruto-san. The combat phase is about to begin" Hinata, who was walking alongside him, said. Despite her words, her tone held just as much exhaustion as the blonde's would had he been speaking.

"What do you mean? Don't we have a few weeks before we have to fight?" Naruto asked skeptically. The Hyuga heiress shook her head and gestured to the small crowd of genin in the room.

"From what I've heard, when there are five or more teams, a preliminary round of combat is carried out. There are six teams in this room. We have to fight, and soon at that" she explained, eliciting a groan from both Naruto and Shikamaru.

"And here I thought I'd have time to prepare" the blonde grumbled as he turned his attention to the front of the crowd, where Hayate, one of the exam proctors, was waiting patiently. After several moments, the room fell silent, allowing for Hayate to speak.

"Congratulations on surviving the forest, everybody. Really, you should be proud of yourselves. Don't start celebrating yet, though. You still have one, or rather, two phases left. Due to the fairly large number of you in here, we're going to be hosting several preliminary rounds before the actual combat phase begins. The losers of these prelim matches will be ejected from the exam, and they will be forced to come back next year" he began. A murmur rippled through the group of genin at his words.

"We don't have much time to waste. Now, as you can see, there are balconies on either side of this room. All of you please make your way to them" Hayate ordered. The genin all nodded and ascended the stairs leading up into the viewing platforms. Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru arrived on the balcony last due to Shikamaru tripping twice on his way up. Hayate then positioned himself in the middle of the large room, aligned with the large statue near the wall.

"I didn't think Hokage-sama would attend the preliminary round of the exams. I suppose it could serve as added motivation" Hinata commented. Sarutobi was, as she had said, standing near Hayate. He said several words to the proctor before vanishing in a puff of smoke. Naruto chuckled and gave his teammate a humorous look.

"Guess not" he teased. Hinata sighed and directed her attention back to Hayate, who was once again awaiting the silence of the genin.

"Direct your attention to the screen up above. It will tell you who's fighting who, so pay attention. All of the matchups are...random" he said, pausing strangely before the final word. The genin all nodded and looked to the screen with bated breath as a roulette of names scrolled by at blinding speeds. After several moments, the two slots in which names would be placed were occupied.

"The first match will be between Shikamaru Nara of Konohagakure and Kin Tsuchi of Otogakure. Would both participants please make their way down to the floor, please?" Hayate announced.

"And of course, I'm up first, fighting a girl. Fucking wonderful" the lazy genin muttered under his breath, earning a hard look from Hinata.

"Watch your language" she scolded as he made his way down the stairway. He was soon followed by the genin from Otogakure. After both combatants had arrived on the floor-level, Hayate had them stand across from one another on opposite sides of the enormous room.

"How long do you think this lasts?" Naruto asked. Before Hinata could respond, a puff of smoke appeared behind them.

"Less than five minutes. Count on it" Kakashi, who had just arrived, said confidently. The blonde glanced over his shoulder.

"Took you long enough. I'll say that it takes him ten minutes" he said. The Hyuga girl furrowed her eyebrows and glanced down at the lower level, where Shikamaru and Kin were receiving their instructions.

"How can the two of you be so sure? We know very little about this girl" she said. Kakashi snorted and made his way to the railing, which he began to lean on.

"Shikamaru is almost impossible to beat if you can't just overpower him. He's the smartest person in this room. He'll run mental circles around her once he gets going. Though, that might take awhile" he said. Naruto nodded in agreement. Hinata decided to quit arguing and opted to focus her energy on the upcoming match.

"Now, since you're both ready, you may begin!" Hayate called out loudly. Shikamaru, as expected, took no immediate action. Instead, he simply began to walk forward at his foe, who had drawn a handful of senbon needles.

"If you're going to use those, make it quick. This fight's gonna be slow as hell if we both try to make reads and all that junk" Shikamaru said tiredly, earning a hard glare from Kin.

"Well, since you asked so nicely…" she said. The Oto genin then unleashed a barrage of Senbon, several of which had bells attached to them. Shikamaru deflected the majority of the needles with a kunai and dodged those that he could not knock aside.

"That all?" he asked. Kin growled and stepped back, prompting the shadow user to charge forward and snap her head back with a hard punch between her eyes. Before he could build on his success, a ringing sound echoed through the room, causing him to freeze.

"Does that answer your question?" Kin asked as Shikamaru struggled to move. The Oto girl then produced another bell and flicked it, producing another ringing sound that caused the lazy genin to see triple.

"What...is this?" Shikamaru growled as he struggled to regain his balance and move. The Oto girl grinned and launched a storm of senbon into his paralyzed body, eliciting a cry of pain from the Nara.

"Auditory genjutsu. A favorite of mine, actually. I hope you like it too" she goaded as Shikamaru forced himself to his feet and took a shaky step forward. In response to his movement, Kin stepped back.

'She keeps backing up whenever I move forward. She probably needs to be a certain distance away from me for the sound to ring the right way. In other words, I need to pressure. No matter what' he thought to himself. Ignoring the searing pain in his limbs from the multiple puncture wounds, the Nara leapt forward and swung his kunai at one of the three Kin's in front of him. The blade passed right through the image, meaning that he had aimed for one of the genjutsu-induced after-images.

'God, I probably look so stupid right now. Just swinging at air' her thought to himself as he continued to miss with strikes, usually being paid back with a new puncture wound each time he missed.

'This sucks'

* * *

"Well, this probably won't last more than five minutes. I guess we were right, Kakashi-sensei" Naruto said with a grimace as his teammate waded through wave after wave of needles. Hinata pulled out her pocket watch and look at it.

"Three minutes and seventeen seconds have passed since the beginning of this match. Should he last another two minutes, he'll have proven you both wrong" she said. Kakashi shook his head and smiled at the crude, but potentially effective tactic Shikamaru was employing against Kin.

"Give it a minute. He's slowly but surely working his way towards winning this fight all at once" he assured, earning looks of confusion from his students.

"If this strategy of his involves getting stabbed with more senbon than I did when I _died_, then he's doing a great job" Naruto said sarcastically. Hinata nodded in agreement.

"I agree with Naruto-san. This is going nowhere quickly" she said. The jonin smirked and looked back at the genin.

"Tell me, what's different about their positioning now as opposed to how it was before?" he asked. Hinata scanned the battlefield for a moment before shrugging.

"His Kin is nearly backed into the wall, and Nara-san is-" she began, stopping before she finished the sentence as she came to an obvious realization.

"Oh. How crude and simple" she said. Naruto frowned, but soon came to the same conclusion his teammate had.

"He's trying to corner her for his shadow possession. It's a good idea, but he's getting carved up along the way" he said. The group continued to watch Shikamaru meander his way forward through the maelstrom of needles for several more minutes. As the minutes dragged on, Shikamaru began to dodge and deflect the needles again, implying that the genjutsu had worn.

"He's fully functional again. This fight is just about done" Kakashi said confidently as the Nara increased his forward pressure and made a hand sign. His shadow shot out and merged with Kin's.

"Hell yeah! He got her!" Naruto yelled. Hinata nodded in approval and patiently awaited her sensei's predicted finish to the match. Shikamaru, taking advantage of the fact that he now had control of his opponent's body, took two steps back, forcing Kin's back to the concrete wall. The Nara then leaned forward and abruptly whipped his head back, smashing the back of the Oto genin's skull into the concrete as a result.

Kin slumped to the floor, having been knocked unconscious by the impact. Hayate, who had been observing the match from roughly fifty feet away, jogged over and checked the girl's body before waving his hands over her.

"Kin Tsuchi is unable to continue. Therefore, the winner is Shikamaru Nara!" he announced to the group in the balcony. Naruto and, quite surprisingly, Hinata both cheered for their teammate as he hobbled his way up the stairs while Kin was attended to by a team of medical ninja.

"Not pretty, but that was cool as hell" Naruto complimented as he slapped hands with his teammate. Shikamaru nodded and began to pluck senbon out of his arms and legs.

"Yeah, that was _not_ worth the trouble. I'm going to be sore for the next month" he grumbled. After several minutes in which Kin's limp body was carried from the battlefield and Shikamaru removed the majority of the senbon from his body, Hayate cleared his throat.

"Take a look up at the screen again" he said, prompting the genin to all look up at the monitor again. After the predictable roulette of names, two names slotted themselves in.

"The next match will be between Gaara of Sunagakure and Rock Lee of Konohagakure. Both combatants, come on down"

* * *

**A/N: I know, I know, I copied the canon for the Kin vs Shikamaru fight. I just wanted to get that one out of the way. Hope you all enjoyed :)**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	21. Unchecked Aggression

**A/N: This fic just reached 340 reviews, 360 favs, and 545 follows! Thank you all so much for the support. Now, let's get started**

**Time for chapter 21**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"What on earth is he made of? No human being could have survived such an impact" Hinata said with wide eyes as Gaara staggered to his feet. The redhead's sand armour, which he had applied earlier in his battle with Rock Lee, was badly cracked and splintered. A stream of blood was dripping from the corner of his mouth, but he appeared to be physically fine despite the aesthetic horror of his appearance.

However, in sharp contrast to the seeming lack of physical damage, Gaara's mental state appeared to have been badly shaken by the Hidden Lotus. For the most part, his demeanor was as calm as it always was, but there were visible gaps in his metaphorical armour now. His eyes twitched periodically, and his hands were shaking.

"If Lee can muster anything more, he might still be able to win this" Naruto said hopefully as his fellow Konoha genin coughed painfully and tried to get to his hands and knees.

"He's done. This fight is over" Kakashi said bluntly. The blonde opened his mouth to refute the statement, but shut it again as he watched Lee continue to writhe in pain.

"His muscular structure has been ravaged, and the majority of his bones are broken in some capacity. I would be amazed if he could stand again within a month, let alone this match" Hinata said grimly. Naruto's hands curled into fists as Gaara slowly approached the fallen genin.

"That...was..._far _too close for comfort" Gaara hissed as his sand wrapped around Lee's battered body. Despite the large distance between the combatants and observers, the silence in the room allowed for the redhead's voice to be heard by all. Gaara then flung his foe into the nearby wall with his sand, resulting in a sickening 'thud' as Lee hit the concrete.

"Stop the fight! Please! He's going to kill him!" Tenten, one of Lee's teammates, yelled desperately from the observation deck. When no stoppage came, Gaara resumed his assault of Lee, tossing him about the room viciously. The beating continued for roughly forty-five seconds before action was taken. Said action occurred when just as Gaara was about to crush Lee's already-broken limbs.

As the tendrils of sand crashed down toward the jumpsuit-wearing ninja, it hit a wall. That wall was Guy, who had leapt down from his position in the observation area to save his clearly finished student. Gaara narrowed his eyes at the sudden interruption.

"Why are you interrupting? This fight isn't finished yet" he asked dangerously. Guy glanced back at Lee, who had lost consciousness soon after his intervention.

"He is my beloved student, and I refuse to let you kill him" he replied firmly. Gaara stared at him blankly for a moment before shaking his head beginning to walk away in the opposite direction.

"I quit" he said bluntly as he strode away. As he made his way back to the observation deck, quiet crackling sound could be heard, prompting both he and Guy to turn around to view its source.

"Dear god…" Hinata whispered with a hand covering her mouth. Naruto, who stood beside her, shook his head in disbelief at the sight below.

"After all of that punishment, he's still…" he said, finding himself unable to finish his sentence as he marveled at the tragic scenario.

"...conscious?" Hayate, who had been preparing to declare Gaara the winner due to Guy's illegal intervention, said. The thing that had shaken the composure of all those observing the match was none other than Rock Lee, who had somehow risen to his feet once more. Guy slowly made his way to his battered pupil and put his hands on his shoulders.

"You don't need to fight anymore, Lee. You've proven your point. The fight is-" he began. Before he could finish the statement, the truth of the situation at hand dawned on him. Lee was completely unconscious, having only risen to his feet through an admirable mix of muscle memory and willpower.

"Lee...what have I done? Look at you, beaten to pieces, and still trying to achieve your goals…" Guy said as he broke down into tears. Hayate swallowed the second hand emotion that had built itself into a lump in his throat and pointed towards the retreating Gaara.

"Due to an illegal interference, Gaara is the winner!" he announced. Guy then begrudgingly surrendered Lee to the medical staff who had been waiting to make their way onto the battlefield. As he was carried away, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Hinata all bowed in his direction as a show of appreciation for his herculean effort against his monstrous foe.

"What an incredible fight. Difficult to watch for stretches, but still about as brutal and back-and-forth as a battle can be" Shikamaru said as Gaara silently returned to his viewing position. Hayate then called for a five minute intermission, much to the relief of all ninja present.

"To think that Neji-san dominates that boy in training. I find that a bit hard to believe after having seen this fight" Hinata muttered more to herself than to her team.

"I doubt that he uses the Eight Gates in sparring. Baseline strength probably favors your cousin quite a bit, if I had to guess" Shikamaru said. The Hyuga girl nodded in agreement.

"Good point. Lee-san's sensei did imply that the Eight Gates Technique was a last resort of sorts" she said. Team Seven continued to discuss the incredible encounter they had just witness until Hayate called them to attention.

"Alright, I need you all to look to the monitor again" he called out to them. For the third time that day, the genin all looked to the screen. After the now-mundane roulette, two names slotted into place. To some, the pairing was shocking. To others, it was as regular as any other. To the few who truly understood, it was begrudgingly perfect.

"Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure will now face Hinata Hyuga, also of Konohagakure. Both combatants, please step forward"

* * *

Neji's posture immediately became rigid at the sound of his cousin's name alongside Naruto's. It was as though the powers that be had been in a foul mood.

"Just as I was beginning to think that this day couldn't become any more stressful…" he muttered under his breath. Despite his hushed tone, Tenten heard him speak.

"First our teammate, and now your cousin. It must really suck to have a dog in every race" she said sympathetically. The Hyuga shook his head and sighed.

"It isn't as simple as me wishing for Hinata-sama's victory. In fact, I'm not sure if this is a fight I think, or even hope, she wins" he said, earning a look of confusion from the weapon specialist.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't you want her to win? I know you two have had your differences, but you've spoken pretty favorably of her for the most part" she asked skeptically. Neji chewed his lip absently as Naruto and Hinata made their ways to opposite sides of the room to face one another from.

"For all of the good qualities she has buried beneath her insufferable superiority complex, that complex is exactly that. _Insufferable_. I feel that she may need to be knocked down a peg or two. My fear regarding this match is just how emotional it is bound to become. Emotion leads to impulse, and impulse leads to foolish, regrettable decision-making" he explained. Tenten nodded and leaned on the railing.

"You did tell me something about her being all hung up over something. That something is Naruto, isn't it?" she asked. The Hyuga nodded and braced himself for the beginning of the match.

"Indeed he is. And he has no idea. By the end of this, he'll be shocked and confused, but I trust him to work around it" he said. Tenten chuckled at his response.

"You have quite a lot of confidence in him despite having never had a conversation with him" she commented. Neji shrugged.

"Call it a leap of faith"

* * *

Naruto stretched extensively as he settled into his position opposite Hinata in the enormous room of concrete. The announcement of his opponent had been surprising, but not overly jarring.

'I would have rather fought somebody else, but I guess I can work with this. She'll bring the best out of me' he thought to himself as he studied his teammate from afar. She appeared to be stretching as well.

'She looks a little...intense. Guess she's just raring to go' he thought as he noticed a defined scowl on Hinata's face. The pair was then given a signal by Hayate.

"Now, if you are both ready, you may begin" he called out to them. The split second after the proctor had given the metaphorical green light, Naruto was struck with a hard palm strike to his stomach, forcing to back up several steps and cough raggedly.

"That was cheap!" he exclaimed as he weaved his way around Hinata's follow-up strikes. Once he had recreated a bit of space, he focused his vision on the oncoming Hyuga and stepped to his left, creating a space for her to blitz her way through. As Hinata flew past him, Naruto cracked her across the left side of her jaw with a hard, right handed punch. The strike caused the heiress to stagger, forcing her to regain her balance.

"Sharp counter. Not bad at all, Naruto-san" she said as she rubbed her face. She then leapt forward and engaged him again, forcing the blonde to block and parry a variety of palm strikes before changing her tactics and planting her shin across the right side of his ribcage. Naruto winced at the debilitating kick to his body, but forced himself to endure the pain and seize the leg that had kicked him.

Naruto spun Hinata around several times before flinging her away. The heiress effortlessly landed on her feet and assumed her stance once more. The Jinchuuriki then made a hand sign and widened his stance.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu" he muttered as twenty duplicates of himself appeared around him. Hinata raised an eyebrow at the development, but did not react further. Naruto then directed the clones towards his opponent. The Hyuga girl charged forward to meet them, dispersing four of them on impact. From there, each clone was succinctly destroyed by the superior prowess of Hinata's taijutsu. Once every clone was gone, Naruto entered the fray once more, leading with a driving knee to Hinata's midsection.

The strike landed cleanly to her chest and halted her forward charge. Despite the disruption of her momentum, Hinata still drew first blood in the exchange with a hard punch to the Jinchuuriki's nose that snapped his head back. Naruto grimaced as his nose stung. Fortunately, he was able to regain his bearings just in time to duck under a kick aimed for the side of his head. As the shin bone sailed over his head, Naruto whipped his head upwards, slamming the back of his head into Hinata's chin.

Both ninja staggered back from the impact, but it was the Hyuga heiress who wore a scowl once they had become stable once again. Naruto stepped forward to re-engage, but was launched backwards well-times palm strike to his upper chest. Just as his feet touched the ground, Hinata jumped forward to capitalize on her success. This time, however, the blonde had expected the blitz.

As Hinata crashed towards him, Naruto ducked down and threw an arcing, short-range elbow that the Hyuga girl ran forehead-first into. The strike immediately split her open, sending a small spray of blood from her face. Hinata was forced to take a knee from the impact, allowing Naruto to seize her by the front of her shirt and throw her back.

'She's timable. She enters and exits exchanges on straight lines. All I need to do is punish her for it' he thought to himself as Hinata wiped the blood from her forehead. Instead of foolishly rushing forward again, she widened her stance and opened her eyes wide.

"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms" she said calmly before vanishing from sight. The blonde took a step backwards to begin his retreat, but was struck hard in the chest with a palm strike before he could move more than a few feet. As he staggered back he was struck two more times. Then four, then eight, then sixteen, then thirty-two, and finally sixty four times. He was sent flying backwards to the floor, colliding with the concrete hard.

"Hayate-san, I believe this match is over. He won't be getting up any time soon" she said, glancing over her shoulder at the proctor. Hayate raised an eyebrow at the statement.

"That so? You might want to look back over at him once" he suggested. Hinata frowned and turned her attention back towards Naruto, who had risen to his feet.

"You know, I _thought_ I was prepared for the pain of getting hit by the gentle fist, but I wasn't. That hurt like _hell_" the blonde said as he wiped a trail of blood from his lips. The Hyuga girl stared at him in shock as he cracked his neck and dusted himself off.

"Before you ask, the reason that didn't knock me out is because I did some specific conditioning to toughen my body up in the event that I was paired up with your cousin. I didn't know that we could be matched against teammates, but it also comes in handy against you" he explained as he assumed a taijutsu stance. Hinata clenched her jaw and began to inch forward.

"The next time I hit you like that, you'll be twitching on the floor. I _promise_" she said before charging in and engaging the Jinchuuriki. As she entered striking range, Naruto intercepted her with a sharp punch to the left side of her skull that turned her head and buckled her knees. Capitalizing on the momentary lapse in defense from his foe, Naruto followed up with a hard kick to the stomach that pushed Hinata back several feet and doubled her over.

The Hyuga girl gritted her teeth and scowled at her teammate as she straightened her posture and prepared herself to continue fighting.

'This _must_ change. I need to alter my approach' she thought to herself as she pushed down her growing frustration. She narrowed her eyes as she studied the blonde.

'I'll _break_ you, Naruto-kun'

* * *

Neji took a sip from his canteen of water as he observed the match between Hinata and Naruto with great interest. The match had been fascinating throughout, and quite enlightening on several levels.

"Who's winning, Neji? I can't keep up with these exchanges" Tenten asked as she tried and failed to properly read the leads and counters of the combatants waging metaphorical war down below. The Hyuga glanced back at her for a moment before returning his attention to the match.

"As of right now, Naruto-san is well ahead. It is quite clear that he prepared specific things for _me_. The defensive stance, the backstepping counters, the willingness to throw more than one strike at a time, he's fighting the perfect fight to bring down a member of the Hyuga clan. He's forcing Hinata-sama to come to him, and it's working" he explained as Naruto snapped the heiress' head back with a sharp punch. Tenten nodded.

"I figured he was ahead. He also looks like the much harder hitter of the two. Every time Hinata steps in, she gets clocked with something that makes her back up. Every time _Naruto_ steps in, he either blocks the strike coming back at him, or he just eats it. She's struggling big time" she said. Neji then flinched as Hinata was staggered with a crushing counter from Naruto that sent her reeling back.

"The power difference is monumental, and it's wearing on her. Unless she dynamically changes her tactics, I don't like her chances down the stretch" he said. Just as the sentence left his mouth, Hinata caught Naruto ducking to his right with a left-legged kick to the side of his head. The strike opened a cut over his right eye and buckled his knees momentarily.

"I was wondering when she would finally throw a high kick. Naruto-san always, _always_ leans to his right when entering range" he said. As though on cue, Hinata slammed her left shin into his head again, having finally found an exploitable opening. Naruto took another backwards step to regain his bearings, barely managing to dodge the follow up palm strike from Hinata.

"Why was he preparing tactics for you, Neji? These matches are random" Tenten asked as Naruto and Hinata engaged again.

"I don't know for sure, but I think he was confident in his ability to defeat any other genin without specialized preparation. He was smart enough to know that facing a member of the Hyuga clan requires planning" Neji replied. Both he and the weapon specialist then gasped as Naruto knocked Hinata flat with an enormous counter punch to the left side of her jaw.

"Her durability is beginning to fail her in these exchanges" Neji said, his tone conflicted. Tenten bit her lip as Hinata staggered to her feet.

"This fight is almost over" she said.

Little did they know, the battle had only begun, and had yet to reach the pique of its horrific violence.

* * *

Naruto took a deep breath as he side-stepped Hinata's forward charge. Despite having taken control of the match several minutes previously, his self-chosen tactic of fighting defensively was taxing, as Hinata refused to give him room to breathe.

'She's insanely durable. I've been hitting her about as hard as I can, and she just keeps coming' he thought to himself as he kicked out one of her legs and sent her crashing to the floor. For the third time that match, he patiently waited for the Hyuga girl to rise to her feet. As she climbed into an upright stance, she locked eyes with him and scowled.

"I'm...done...with this" she said vaguely. She then allowed herself to relax and leaned her head back. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows as his teammate stood silently before him.

"What do you mean?" he asked skeptically. Hinata did not respond. Instead, she convulsed momentarily before dropping to her knees.

"What the hell is going on?" Naruto demanded as the Hyuga heiress breathed deeply and rose to her feet for a second time. For several moments, Hinata's eyes were downcast, hiding her face behind her bangs. Eventually, she turned her gaze up to Naruto.

"Shall we continue now, Naruto-kun?" she asked. The unusually-timed, affectionate honorific caught the Jinchuuriki's attention immediately, but that was not the detail that caused his blood to run cold.

It was the strange markings that had made their way up Hinata's neck and onto her face.

* * *

**A/N: I know a lot of you are going to be disappointed that I didn't show Gaara vs Lee, but you have to understand, that fight is unquestionably the best of the whole series, and I don't think I could have done it justice.**

**Hope you aren't too angry at me for that :(**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	22. Bloody Horns

**A/N: This one should be fun and thought provoking. Might be a little...heavy for some people, though.**

**Time for chapter 22**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto felt a bead of cold sweat drip down his forehead as he and Hinata stared at one another from across the stone floor. Half of the Hyuga girl's face was covered in a jagged, black pattern of markings, and they appeared to be glowing a subtle purple color.

'So that's what Orochimaru did to her. I'm not sure what those markings do, but I don't like the feeling I'm getting from her right now' he thought to himself as he prepared for the inevitable clash between himself and the Hyuga heiress. After several moments, said clash occurred, with Hinata blitzing across the space between them and launching a right-handed palm strike at Naruto's head. The blonde was able to rip his head off to his left just before the strike could connect.

'She's faster. _Way _faster' he thought to himself as he threw a short right-handed punch as a counter to the palm strike. As she had several times previously, the Hyuga girl ran face-first into the counter. Unlike before, her head did not budge as the fist slammed into her jaw.

"Is that all, Naruto-kun?" she asked as she mocked him by pouting girlishly. Naruto growled and retracted the punch he had connected with.

"Why are you calling me that?" he demanded as he threw a left-handed punch at her head. Hinata easily leaned back and caused the punch to miss her by inches. As he missed, Naruto fell forward and absorbed a hard knee to his solar plexus, causing him to gasp for air and back up.

"The better question is, why does it bother you?" she asked as she walked forward and prepared to strike him. The blonde narrowed his eyes and parried the jabbing strike the heiress speared towards his face.

"Now that you mention it, I don't really know. Have any ideas as to why it might bug me, Hinata-_chan_?" he replied, well aware of the dangerous game he was playing. Hinata immediately turned a shade of red that strongly contrasted with the black markings on her face. Instead of responding verbally, she stepped forward and threw a rugged, overhanded punch that snapped Naruto's head back and opened a cut underneath his left eye.

"Shut your mouth, you disgusting insect" she snapped angrily as she bared her teeth. The Jinchuuriki winced as he rubbed his gashed face.

"I never took you for much a puncher, but I guess I've been wrong before. What's your problem? It's actually been a little while since you've insulted me like that" he asked. Hinata stared at him silently for several moments.

"Am I not justified in being perturbed by an unfair reality?" she asked vaguely. Naruto sighed and shook his head.

"Oh please, you don't you jack about 'unfair'. Trust me" he said before charging forward and engaging his teammate. The blonde moved forward as though he was going to throw a punch, drawing a counter from Hinata in advance in the form of the same stepping knee he had been countered with before. As the knee drove towards his abdomen, Naruto pulled his punch back and whirled around, slamming his heel into the side of the heiress' head and sending her staggering back.

Naruto then leapt forward and followed up with a hard punch to the ride side of Hinata's ribcage that doubled her over. As he prepared to hit her again, the Hyuga girl seized him by the back of his head and pulled his face down into a hard knee that shocked his nervous system and froze him in place.

"Nothing? Oh, that's just _rich _coming from you, Naruto-kun. The source of another person's struggles should not critique that person's trials" she said as she cracked him with two punches on either side of his jaw. Naruto scowled and pivoted around HInata's next linear attack. He seized her around the waste from behind as she stumbled past him and hoisted her up in the air before slamming her down to the ground.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? The source? I haven't done anything to you other than annoy you a little" he said as Hinata scrambled to her feet and broke away from the Jinchuuriki.

"You really are a simpleton. You see the world through a distorted lense. You understand absolutely nothing subtle" she said as she dusted herself off and re-engaged the blonde in a furious exchange of leads and counters. Naruto felt his confusion at the change in Hinata's demeanor increase as he ducked and dodged to avoid injury all while landing counter-strikes of his own.

'Where is this _coming_ from? Why is she suddenly back to hating my guts? Those markings have something to do with it, but this still sounds like Hinata' he thought to himself as he and Hinata simultaneously landed hooking, left-handed punches to each other's jawlines. They both staggered back, but Naruto was clearly worse for wear as he struggled to regain his bearings. A dark smirk slowly spread across the Hyuga girl's face as the markings on her face slowly spread further across her body.

"Feeling tired? Good, just wonderful. I find you to be positively _adorable_ when your face is a mask of blood and bruises. It just feels so..._right_ to watch you break before me" she said with a disturbing giggle. Naruto felt his stomach drop at her tone and sinister smile. The situation was beginning to remind him strongly of something he had seen several weeks previously.

'It's just like that nightmare' he thought to himself as he pushed down his fear. He then made a solemn decision as he staggered to his feet and stared into Hinata's Byakugan.

'This is the last thing I wanted to do, but I don't have a choice' he thought to himself as his blue irises faded to red. He felt a surge of hot energy pour into his body. He assumed a taijutsu stance and steeled himself.

'I don't know what that seal is doing to you, Hinata, but I swear to god I'll tear it off your body if it means ending this sick dream'

* * *

Kakashi looked on with a mix of horror and shame as his students tore into one another at a torrid pace. As Anko had predicted, Hinata's mental state was clearly being affected by the curse mark, and it didn't appear to be on a road of recovery. The fight had become much more brutal and competitive since the Hyuga girl had given into the marking's influence and allowed the seal to spread across her body.

"Is this what you wanted, sensei?" Shikamaru asked quietly as Naruto spun Hinata's jaw with an enormous punch. The jonin turned to his student and sighed,

"How did you find out?" he asked. The lazy genin gave him a bored look before turning his attention back to the horrific contest taking place down below.

"Anko doesn't know how to talk quietly. She and Ibiki were discussing your decision to make this whole thing happen last night. I overheard them" he explained. Kakashi nodded and uncovered his sharingan to better observe the match.

"As painful as this may be to watch, it's...necessary. This would have happened sooner or later, and its better for it to happen in a sanctioned environment rather than the battlefield. I would have preferred if Hinata hadn't been marked by Orochimaru, but it can't be helped" he said. Shikamaru growled and jammed a finger towards the battle as Naruto and Hinata exchanged brutal strikes.

"Necessary? Really? Just because you couldn't find the courage to sit down Hinata and get it through her skull that one person's success isn't her failure doesn't mean this is a good solution" he snapped. Kakashi did a double take as he was glared at by his normally-composed student.

"Let me guess, you were terrified of what would happen if Hinata rejected your advice. You were afraid that she would split and leave the team. You were afraid to lose your highest-profile student. Tell me, are you _really_ any better than the damned villagers? You put your own status before Naruto and now he's suffering for it. Look at his face! He doesn't want to be fighting his teammate! He's holding back so he doesn't hurt her!" Shikamaru yelled, gaining the attention of the other genin. The silver-haired ninja stared at his student silently before sighing heavily and turning his gaze back towards the match.

"I don't expect you to understand my reasoning, Shikamaru. Some things need to be solved through violence. That's human nature, as sad as that is. You have every right to be angry, I don't blame you for that at all, but reserve your judgement until after the fact" he said. Shikamaru opened his mouth to protest, but shut it again and relaxed, realizing there was no point in arguing further.

"When this is all said and done, nobody is going to be happy. You know that, right?" he asked quietly after several moments. Kakashi chewed his lip absently and flinched as Naruto was launched backwards by a dual-handed palm strike from Hinata.

"Not immediately, no, but given time, this will benefit them both in the long run" he replied. Shikamaru took a sip from his canteen of water.

"I hope you're right"

* * *

Both Naruto and Hinata heaved deep breaths as they circled one another while they searched for exploitable openings. They were both battered and bloodied, and their cardiovascular abilities were beginning to fail them both. After another moment or two of tense silence, the genin charged towards one another and clashed together. Hinata struck first with a palm strike that numbed the blonde's left arm. Despite the damage inflicted to the limb, Naruto used the arm to elbow the heiress between the eyes. Sensing that they both had a potentially fading opponent before them, the children extended the exchange one layer further, throwing hard, right-handed punches simultaneously.

Naruto won the trade of strikes decisively, as his arms were slightly longer. The added range of his punch allowed him to connect a split second before Hinata and jar her jaw. The punch knocked Hinata to the ground, forcing her to scamper away and stand awkwardly. As she attempted to balance herself, she was sent to the ground again by a kick to her upper chest.

"Just give up, Hinata. _Please_, let's be done with this" the blonde reasoned futilly. Hinata growled and climbed to her feet.

"Every time you open your mouth, my opinion of you sours more. We aren't done until I say we are. I _need _this, and I refuse to let you rob me of it" she hissed. Naruto's lips tightened into a thin line.

"Why? Why do you want to hurt me so badly? What changed? You and I were...friends, or something close to it" he asked tensely. Hinata's hands curled into fists as she shook at his question.

"What changed? What changed is that I...realized just how inadequate you make me feel. Every time I see you train, you are demonstrably better than you were the day before. You make progress at a rate that just isn't normal. You've improved more in a month than I have in the past half-decade. I cannot accept that. I refuse to roll over and resign myself to the idea that I, an elite member of this society, is inferior to you, the village pariah" she explained as the markings thickened and spread across her skin to fill in the gaps between patterns.

"What? That's what this is about? Me getting better? You and I are teammates! We should support and cheer each other on! It makes me _happy _when I see you or Shikamaru improve. What makes you an exception to that idea?" Naruto demanded. Hinata shook her head and relaxed slightly as her body was consumed by the curse mark.

"You don't understand, Naruto-kun. To be born into great expectations. For your only option to be victory. To be viewed as a prodigy is not all it's cracked up to be. For me, loss is not an option. Especially against you. My world falls to pieces if you defeat me here and now. To preserve myself, I'm willing to put aside my shameless affection for you and do everything in my power to put you down. I'm sorry, but I must do this" she said, a trace of genuine emotion finding its way into her voice as her body morphed.

"I don't want to hurt you, Hinata. Please, don't do this" Naruto begged as the Hyuga girl's transformation completed itself. After a moment of silence, Hinata's body stopped changing.

"As I said, nothing else matters now but this. Whether you like it or not, I'm going to punish you for disgracing me" she said as she stared into his eyes. Naruto froze as he beheld the girl before him. Her forehead had sprouted small, pointed horns, and her hair had darkened from blue to black in color. Her sclera had turned black as well, making her lavender irises defined to the point of seeming to glow.

"You told me once that you weren't good with people. I figured you just meant that you were awkward, but I see that the problem is bigger than that. I care about you, way more than I probably should. I think about you every single day. I want you to be happy, and I really think that you can be a great person to be around when you are" Naruto said with a sigh as he prepared himself for a fight that he knew he would be battered in.

"What are you getting at?" Hinata asked as she assessed the Jinchuuriki carefully. Naruto spat blood out of his mouth and stepped forward.

"You push away the people who love and care for you. You keep suppressing your own personality for the sake of your ego. You enjoy being praised, you enjoy compliments, hell, you even said that you liked being carried by me. You're just as human as the rest of us. Just to warn you, I won't go away. No matter how much you hurt me" he said firmly. Hinata sighed and vanished from sight. She reappeared with her palm flattened against Naruto's stomach and her mouth pressed to his ear.

"Let's see if you still feel that way after I pull you apart at the seams" she whispered in his ear. She then forced her own chakra into his abdomen and launched him backwards. Naruto hit the ground with a 'thud' and coughed up a sizeable amount of blood. He rolled onto his stomach and attempted to stand, but fell down again.

"Don't bother. I've ruptured your intestinal tract and liver. It won't kill you, but fighting on won't be possible" HInata said as she appeared in front of him. Naruto growled and forced himself to his feet, the demonic chakra in his body slowly healing the detrimental wounds.

"That's your other problem. Assuming you know the limitations of your peers" he said before throwing a brutal, full-power punch to the left side of the corrupted Hyuga's jaw. The strike sent Hinata tumbling to the floor. The heiress clenched her teeth and leapt to her feet before rushing towards Naruto and seizing him by the shoulders. She then reared her head back and slammed her horned forehead onto his, splitting his skin and sending a spray of blood onto her own face as a consequence.

Much to her shock, Naruto refused to budge. Instead, he grabbed the sides of her face and pressed his forehead into his further, deepening the wound and increasing the flow of blood from the deep punctures.

"What on earth are you doing?" she demanded in confusion. Naruto gave her a strained smile and softened his grip on her face.

"I just needed to be in close contact with you. This can be over now" he said softly. Before she could reply, Naruto forced a mix of his own chakra and the fox's chakra into her body. The energy quickly began to counteract the corrupted chakra of the curse mark, resulting in Hinata's horns retracting and her body returning to its normal state.

The curse markings soon began to disappear from the Hyuga girl's body, prompting Hinata to shove him away and look on in shock as her teammate dropped to his knees, completely spent from the action. The Hyuga girl was now fully normal once again, with the only remnant of the curse mark being the tattoo on the side of her neck.

"What have you done?" Hinata whispered as Naruto heaved ragged breaths and struggled to his feet. He coughed painfully and covered his mouth to prevent blood from splattering on the ground.

"I suppressed the curse mark with a mixture of mine and the fox's chakra. You won't have access to that seal for a little while. It probably cut a year or two off of my life-span, but it was more than worth it" he said. Hinata then backed up a step as Naruto labored toward her. After retreating several more steps, the heiress leapt forward and slammed a fist into Naruto's forehead, stopping him in his tracks momentarily.

"I still can't let you win. I won't let you-" she began. Before she could finish the sentence, Naruto vanished from sight and reappeared behind her.

"Save it. You'll thank me for this someday" he whispered in her ear before striking a nerve on the back of her neck, rendering her unconscious instantly. He reached down and caught her before she could face-plant. He then gently laid her on her back and looked to Hayate.

"Call the match" he said. The proctor made his way to Hinata and checked her body before waving his arms over her and pointing to Naruto.

"Hinata Hyuga is unable to continue! Naruto Uzumaki is the winner!" he announced to the observing genin. The moment the result was announced, Naruto fell to his back and allowed his eyes to shift back to their natural blue color. Kakashi quickly made his way down the stairs and over to his fallen students. He knelt down next to Naruto and clenched his jaw to control his emotions.

"Are you alright?" he asked. The blonde tried to chuckle, but only managed to hack up bloody phlegm instead.

"I'm feeling great, Kakashi-sensei. Like a million dollars" he said as he was hoisted onto a stretcher by the medical team. The jonin followed the stretcher as it was carried away.

"As awful as that fight was, what you did at the end was both genius and heroic. And thank you for holding back. I...know you could have ended the fight any time you wanted to, but you chose to give her a chance to vent instead. You're a great example to follow, Naruto" he said. The Jinchuuriki smiled at the kind words, but lost consciousness before he could speak. Kakashi sighed and turned to return to the other ninja.

'Hinata, if you throw him to the wayside, you're only hurting yourself'

* * *

**A/N: That was really fun to write. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. **

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	23. Forgiven, but Unforgotten

**A/N: We're almost at 400 reviews, fellas. We can do it. Aftermaths are fun, right? This one should be.**

**Time for chapter 23**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Hinata groaned and rubbed her neck as she sat up in bed. Every part of her body was in pain, particularly her head, which was throbbing with a painful rhythm. She glanced around the room she had been sleeping in and frowned. It appeared to be a hospital room, as the walls and floors were white. There was a window by the side of her bed that was covered by a curtain. After several moments of confusion, the events of her confrontation with Naruto came flooding back through her mind.

'After all of that, after giving in to that sinful seal, I still came up short. Left in the dust by you again, Naruto-kun' she thought dejectedly as she laid her head back on her pillow. Her mind then wandered back to the battle itself and the words that were exchanged.

'_I'm willing to put aside my shameless affection for you and do everything in my power to put you down'_

Hinata sighed and shook her head as she dissected her own words from multiple different angles and perspectives.

'Of course, just as the situation is spiralling out of control, I go and say _that_' she thought to herself. As she recounted the brutal war of wills, a knock came at her door. The Hyuga girl sat up and glanced over at the door.

"Come in" she called tentatively, somewhat apprehensive as to the potential possibilities of who laid beyond the door. After a moment or two, the door creaked open to reveal the absolute last person Hinata wanted to see.

"You look well, Hinata. I sincerely hope that you don't _feel _well, though" Hiashi said as he made his way into the room and over to a chair in the corner.

"H-hello, father. I would assume that you are here to...discuss some things" Hinata greeted shakily as her father assessed her from his corner chair. The clan head shook his head and sighed sadly.

"Skipping right to the topic at hand, hm? Admirable for somebody in your position" he muttered as he gathered his words. After nearly a full minute of silence before Hiashi spoke again.

"I cannot put into words how disappointed I am. You defied every lesson of morality and dignity that I have ever tried to instill into you. You whored yourself away to a sinister, sinful power that you had _no_ control over, and you maimed your own teammate with it. You are _very _lucky that Uzumaki-san has a remarkable level of self-control, because if he didn't, you would likely be in a coma" he said. Hinata furrowed her eyebrows at the statement.

"What do you mean?" she asked skeptically. The clan head scowled at her and stood up from his chair.

"First and foremost, even at the pique of your power while using that seal, there was never a moment in which you were not at his mercy. Had he so chosen, he could have rendered you unconscious immediately. If I am to be honest, I wish he would have. If he had, I would not have been forced to watch my eldest daughter fall so far" he began. Hinata considered refuting his words, but thought better of it.

"Why would you do something so foolish? What compelled you to give in to the curse mark?" Hiashi demanded. Hinata pursed her lips and exhaled through her nose.

"Victory. I needed it, and I needed it badly. I knew in the back of my mind that my chances against him were slim at best without use of the curse mark after the first few exchanges. I still refuse to resign myself to the idea that he truly is superior to me, and I doubt I ever will" she said. Her father gave her a hard look.

"It's fine to be competitive. In fact, I implore you to keep a competitive mindset. Such a thing can be extremely beneficial in moderation. What isn't fine is blowing that mindset so far out of proportion that you severely damage the people around you. Uzumaki-san's status as a Jinchuuriki is the only reason he's alive right now. His body was badly damaged by the process of forcing his chakra into your body" he said. Hinata felt her blood freeze in her veins.

"What has happened to him? Is he okay?" she asked, a renewed fear permeating her voice. Her father raised an eyebrow and sat down on the end of her bed.

"For somebody who claimed to enjoy the imagery of his face as a mask of blood and lacerations, you seem awfully worried about him. His current condition is your doing. As for what has happened to him, it's fairly complicated. The best way to explain it would be to say that he saved you quite a bit of trouble. As would be expected, the power the curse mark comes at a price. It causes your body to...eat itself alive in a way. Muscles atrophy, bones become brittle, and nerve endings die" he began, eliciting quiet gasp from Hinata, who wore a look of guilty horror as she pieced it all together.

"When he forced his chakra into you, your body was overloaded with energy for a moment. You would have died had he not absorbed a bit of the excess. That extra chakra was a portion of the chakra held within the curse mark. As a consequence of allowing that energy into his body, he suffered the side-effects of _your_ transformation. He likely knew that he was much more likely to recover within a reasonable time-frame than you. That boy is much more intelligent than even I gave him credit for" Hiashi said, concluding his explanation. Hinata lowered her eyes and stared at her hands.

'You willingly took a beating from me just to draw out my curse mark. Then, you took away the side-effects and took them on yourself. You put my needs before your own, even in the heat of battle. That selflessness will get you killed someday, but for now, you've taken my breath away, Naruto-kun' she thought to herself as the magnitude of her teammate's shrewd tactics.

"Where is he now?" she asked quietly. Hiashi pointed a finger out into the hallway and shrugged his shoulders.

"Where do you think? He's just down the hall. He's required to stay in the building until tomorrow morning, but he is visitable" he said before turning to leave. Before the clan head could leave the room, his daughter called out to him one last time.

"What were the results of the preliminary round? And who is facing who in the finals?" she asked curiously. Hiashi glanced back over his shoulder at her.

"Uzumaki-san is set to face Gaara of the Sand, and Neji is to face Kankuro of the Sand. Your teammate, Shikamaru Nara is set to face Temari of the Sand. As for the results of the preliminary round, Neji bludgeoned Kiba Inuzuka in seventeen seconds, and the opponents of your cousin and teammate battered their opponents effortlessly" he explained before leaving the room.

After he had left, Hinata stood up from her bed and stretched. She then walked over to a mirror sitting on her bedside table and looked at her own face.

'Medical ninjutsu is quite something' she thought to herself as she found that her face was virtually unmarked. She then glanced around the room for a moment before spotting a pile of clothes sitting on a chair.

'I must dress myself. I would rather humiliate myself in my own clothes than a hospital gown'

* * *

Hinata stood in front of Naruto's hospital room hesitantly for several moments before finally finding the nerve to knock. After rapping her knuckles on the hardwood three times, a muffled call came from within the room.

"Come on in" Naruto said from inside. The Hyuga girl took a deep breath and pushed the door open before stepping inside and closing it behind her. As the Jinchuuriki caught sight of her, a wide range of emotions flashed across his face, which, unlike Hinata's, was still badly marked and cut.

"Oh, Hinata. How...are you?" he asked carefully, his tone carrying a subtle undertone of apprehension. The heiress fidgeted slightly and sat herself down on a chair next to his bed, finding anything to look at but him.

"Quite well, all things considered. My body has healed remarkably. Medical Ninjutsu is a godsend" she said as she looked herself up and down. Naruto nodded and sat up in bed, wincing as he did so.

"Wish I could say the same. The nurses have been telling me that the fox's chakra makes medical ninjutsu impossible. I kind of think they're just avoiding having to heal me. I mean, I'll heal on my own within a few days, but this still sucks" he said with a sigh. Hinata gave him a guilty look and bit her lip.

"I suppose you may be wondering what I'm doing here. Especially after all that I said to you" she said quietly. The Jinchuuriki remained silent as he studied her carefully.

"You don't seem anywhere near as sinister as you were yesterday. I'm not all that worried, honestly" he said with a shrug. The Hyuga girl glanced up at him and clenched her jaw to prevent her lip from quivering as she beheld his battered face.

"Look at you, battered and bloody even after the fact. All because of my own stupidity" she whispered in a pained tone. Naruto sighed and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. It's fine. I understand why you feel the way you do. Even if I think you took it a few steps too far. I survived, and so did you. That's all that matters. Don't stress yourself out over something that isn't important" he said. Hinata felt her limit being quickly reached.

"But it _is_ important. I gave into my darkest desires and my shameful jealousy. As a result, I hurt you psychologically and physically. I turned you into something no person should ever be. A scapegoat" she said shakily. The blonde pursed his lips.

"Like I said in the Land of Waves, you aren't the first, and you won't be the last. Don't be so self-critical. We all have low points" he said. The Hyuga girl slammed her fist down onto his bedside table, causing him to flinch.

"But you shouldn't be the one who suffers for it. You don't deserve to be everybody's doormat. You're better than that. You're worth more than that" she said angrily. Naruto raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to respond, but was silenced by Hinata, who put up a hand.

"Yes, I know. I'm being pathetically hypocritical. I said horrible, awful, no-good things to you yesterday to vent my own frustrations. I'm no better than the people I'm criticizing" she said quietly. Naruto shifted a bit in place.

"You know, I think I finally understand why Orochimaru marked you" he said with a strange look. Hinata frowned at the statement and motioned for him to continue.

"He didn't do it to lure you in like Kakashi-sensei and your father were suspecting. He did it to goad me. He somehow knew that you would use that curse mark. He also knew that you and I would end up fighting. Not sure how, but I think I'm right" he explained. The Hyuga girl sighed.

"Even if you are right, even if my use of the seal was all part of some master plan, I still made the choice. I still opted to throw away my morals and treat you like discarded trash. I'm so, so sorry, Naruto-kun" she apologized emotionally. Naruto tilted his head to one side at her words.

"You're still calling me 'Naruto-kun'. Why? I thought you were just saying it to mess with me during our fight" he asked skeptically. Hinata turned red for a moment, but calmed herself and gave him a melancholy smile.

"Must I spell this out for you?" she asked, clearly hoping that the answer to her question was a resounding 'no'. To her disappointment, the Jinchuuriki nodded.

"You might" he said with a chuckle. Hinata folded her hands over her chest and looked him in the eyes for the first time since her arrival in his hospital room.

"Despite my awful treatment of you, despite all of the insults, despite the countless times I've given you the cold shoulder, I...I have come to adore you. Much to my own dismay. I hate myself for it, I really do, but even I can't deny it anymore" she admitted, more to herself than Naruto. The Jinchuuriki stared at her blankly for a moment before responding.

"So, that's what you meant when you said that you would 'put your affection aside' to try to beat me senseless. This is...more than a little shocking for me to hear" he said carefully. Hinata felt a tear finally escape from one of her eyes.

"I have no doubt in my mind that I've ruined any chance of you and I having a healthy relationship of any kind, be it romantic or platonic. All I've ever done is hurt you and-" she began. Before she could finish, Naruto pressed a finger to her lips.

"Don't jump to conclusions. I willingly gave up two years of my life to make sure you survived our fight. I care about you more than almost anybody else currently living. You mean a lot to me, even if I don't fully understand why. I love being around you when you're in a good mood, so don't go convincing yourself that I hate you or something, because I don't. Not even close" he said. Hinata's eyes widened at one specific detail of his speech. She gently removed his hand from her face and grasped the limb tightly as though she were terrified to be without it.

"You weren't exaggerating. You really did cut your own life-span down for me" she said quietly. Then, without warning, she stood up and tumbled onto the bed, latching onto Naruto and burying her face in his chest as she began to weep openly.

"I stole two entire years, 730 days from you. I've killed you in advance…" Hinata wailed as she tightened her grip around the Jinchuuriki. Naruto winced with pain as he was squeezed by his crying teammate, but chose not to struggle.

"You didn't kill me Hinata. I made the choice to suppress the curse mark. I knew the risks, and I gambled. Sometimes you lose, and I did this time" he said reassuringly while rubbing her back and allowing her to cry.

"Why are you so damn forgiving? Why are you so willing to forget all that I've done?" Hinata asked quietly as her tears soaked through his shirt. Naruto gently pried her off of himself and laid a hand on the side of her face.

"Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei care, but they have their own agendas. Shikamaru...we'll get there, but for now, he's just another guy. You...as hard as it's been and as much pain as I've endured, I'm still happier than I've been in years. You being kind of a stalker creeps me out, but it also makes me kind of happy to know that somebody is watching over me" he said. Hinata opened her mouth to respond, but couldn't find her voice.

"I guess the best way to put it is...you're all I've got. That's why I'm so willing to go to the lengths I do for you" Naruto said honestly. The Hyuga heiress gently tucked her head underneath his chin and wrapped her arms around him again.

"I cannot guarantee that this will ever be easy for either one of us, but I...promise that I won't do something as foolish as I did yesterday. I will never force you to give up a piece of yourself for my sake again" she said as she softly nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck.

"You're so bipolar. Less than a day ago, you were trying to kill me, now here you are cuddling me. Some consistency would be nice" Naruto said with a chuckle. The Hyuga girl curled up against him and closed her eyes.

"Duly noted. Tell me, how...do you feel about me? Be honest" she asked quietly. The blonde thought for a moment before answering.

"I don't quite adore you the way you claim to adore me, there's still some growing to do. I think I could in the future. No, I think I _will_. Not quite yet, though" he replied. Hinata nodded.

"Would you mind if I slept as we are now? The blankets in this establishment are poor, and you are quite warm" she asked. Naruto snickered.

"You could just come out and say that you want to snuggle. I'm willing to let you just because you apologized so nicely" he said. Hinata sighed and yawned.

"I'll never admit it. Never" she said defiantly before beginning to softly snore in his arms. After several minutes, the Jinchuuriki closed his eyes as well.

'Not where I thought I'd end up today, but I guess I can live with this'

* * *

**A/N: Just to clarify: THEY ARE NOT TOGETHER YET. It'll still be a little while before that actually happens. Either way, I hope you all enjoyed :)**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	24. Slow Repair

**A/N: Well, the next few chapters are going to be spread out among a few different characters, so don't expect much major to happen. Should be fun regardless.**

**Time for chapter 24**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Hanabi sighed as Hinata dragged herself into her room. The heiress had just been brutally reprimanded for her actions during the preliminary round of the chunin exams by the Elder members of their clan. Despite not having been in the room, Hanabi had managed to piece together the majority of what was discussed due to the heightened volume of the ancient clansmen.

"Any particular reason that you've come to _my_ room, Ne-san?" she asked as Hinata closed the door and slid to the floor. The elder of the two sisters sighed heavily and drew her knees up to her chin.

"I would rather not smell my own perfume right now, if you know what I mean" she said. Hanabi stood up from her bed and walked over to her sister. She knelt down in front of her and sighed.

"I don't claim to fully understand your reasoning for doing what you did, but it was wrong, and you were punished accordingly. If you're here to sulk, then leave" she said. Hinata shook her head and leaned back against the door.

"Don't worry. I have no self-pity. I know what I did was awful. If I am to be honest, father gave them a fairly favorable account of the match. I was spared a harsher punishment due to my position as heiress as well, so I have no room to complain" she said. Her sister sat down beside her and leaned back on the wall as well.

"Why...did you give in to that seal? I just don't understand why you would do such a thing. Was it really rooted in your jealousy of his progress?" she asked carefully. The heiress swallowed and wiped away a ghost of a tear from her eye as she recalled her transformation.

"Initially, it was because I was desperate. I despised the idea of using that seal. I knew what it was the moment I regained consciousness after being marked, and it didn't interest me at all. But...once control of my fight with Naruto-kun began to slip away, my logical mind took a vacation. He was so much more efficient and slippery than he had been before. I wasn't ready. I couldn't have beaten him" she said. Hanabi frowned at one particular aspect of the explanation.

"Initially? Did your reasoning change as the match went on?" she asked curiously. Hinata nodded and ran a hand through her hair.

"That seal did things to my mind. Things that I would usually find appalling were suddenly...intoxicating. That shift in preference became completely impossible to resist about ten minutes into the match, when I got a good look at Naruto-kun's face for the first time since we had been given our instructions" she said, sounding ashamed of the information she was about to reveal.

"He was covered in blood and cuts. He was bruised and swollen. Sounds disgusting, doesn't it? Well, to me, in that moment, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on. I was almost..._aroused_ by the sight of his injuries. I needed more. I needed to hurt him more. Even while my mind fell into that perverse abyss, a small part of myself was screaming for me to stop. Somehow, that small sliver of humanity made its way to the surface for a brief moment" she said, her voice wavering in strengths several times throughout the account.

Hanabi felt her stomach churn at the uncensored description of her sister's dark and sanguinary emotions, but motioned for her to continue. Hinata took a deep breath before obliging.

"Right as my body was fully taken by the curse mark, he questioned my reasoning for being so excessively aggressive and antagonizing during our match. For the briefest of moments, I saw him for who he was again. He was Naruto Uzumaki, whom I adore passionately, not a piece of meat to be minced. He deserved something resembling an explanation. So, I gave him as honest a speech as I could. Within said speech, I inadvertently admitted that I desire him" she said.

Hanabi winced and gave her sister a sympathetic look as she imagined how she herself would feel given the same situation.

"Talk about poor timing for a confession. Knowing him, though, he likely didn't hear you. What did you say, exactly?" she asked. The Hyuga heiress thought for a moment.

"I told him that I was going to bludgeon him despite my affection for him. I certainly sent conflicting signals, but it was clear enough. Also, he did hear me. He said as much after the fact" she said. Her sister raised an eyebrow.

"You make it sound like you've already spoke with him about this. Have you?" she asked skeptically. Hinata nodded and smiled, much to Hanabi's surprise.

"I discussed this topic with him in the hospital yesterday. It was both hellish and heavenly at the same time. On the one hand, it was clear to me that I badly hurt him emotionally. He gave me the same speech he always does when I say something hurtful and try to apologize, which is that I am not alone in his persecution. Whenever he says such things, it tends to mean that he is suffering psychologically" she said. Hanabi nodded and awaited the rest of the story.

"After wading my way through that part of the discussion, he pointed out that I was openly referring to him as 'Naruto-kun'. Given the situation, I was forced to explain myself. I expressed to him that I harbored deep, consuming affection for him, all while wishing I didn't. He did not reject me outright. In fact, he stopped me from tearing myself down and comforted me, even though I didn't deserve it. After that...well, I tackled him to his bed and refused to let go. As it turns out, he sacrificed two years of his life to suppress the curse mark" Hinata said somewhat emotionally.

"I was about to criticize your decision to force yourself upon him, but such a sacrifice warrants a hug" Hanabi said with a chuckle. The heiress nodded and stared off into space blankly as she recalled the physical contact.

"What was his exact response?" her sister asked curiously. Hinata stood up and stretched. She then made her way to Hanabi's bedside table and picked up a stray pair of earrings.

"He told me that while he did not entirely reciprocate now, that he almost certainly would in the foreseeable future. Insurance, if you will. He also let me take a nap while essentially laying on him, which was a sweet gesture" she said as she put on the earrings. Hanabi raised an eyebrow as her sister opened the door to leave.

"Earrings? Have you somewhere important to be, Ne-san?" she asked as Hinata exited the room quietly. The heiress glanced back over her shoulder and smiled innocently.

"Nothing formal. Can't a girl indulge every once in a while?" she asked before closing the door again and walking down the hall. Hanabi sighed and shook her head.

'Oh, elder sister. You're so hopeless'

* * *

Naruto rubbed his throbbing head as he made his way towards his front door, which was being knocked on. While his physical had improved overnight, literally, he was still fairly uncomfortable moving around on his feet. Every step he took elicited a painful pulse in his skull. Coincidentally, the person who dwelled on the other side of his front door happened to be the source of these discomforts and pains.

"Good afternoon, Naruto-kun" Hinata, who was carrying a handbag, greeted jovially. The blonde felt his face heat up slightly at her casual use of the affectionate honorific in relation to his name.

"You're in a good mood. Did you get off easy with your clan?" he asked. The Hyuga girl sighed and nodded.

"As easily as I possibly could have. I have been assigned cleaning duty. Every night for the next four months, I am to clean up the dining quarters of both the branch and main houses. Eight rooms in total" she explained. Naruto chuckled.

"Wow, that's pretty harsh. Cruel and unusual punishment, huh?" he joked. Hinata shook her head and pursed her lips.

"It was either cleaning or a caged bird seal. I would much rather be a maid for a few months than have my freedom taken away from me" she said. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows at the statement.

"I've never heard of the Caged Bird Seal. What...is it exactly?" he asked carefully, sensing that the topic at hand was a sensitive one. The heiress sighed and stepped through the doorframe, prompting Naruto to step to the side and let her though.

"Forgive me for intruding, but I would rather keep this conversation fairly private. Not that this isn't somewhat common knowledge, but it still is controversial" she said as she sat down at his dining table. The blonde nodded and closed the door before making his way to the dining table.

"For starters, the seal is only given to members of the branch family. It is a precautionary measure to protect the Byakugan from thieves. The point of the seal is to destroy the eyes of he or she who bears it upon their death. The second, much more cruel purpose of the seal is to 'discipline' members of the branch family. Should a member of the main family so choose, they can activate the seal, which, in turn, will cause them severe pain" she explained.

The Jinchuuriki's face contorted in disgust as he processed the details of the information that had been revealed to him.

"That's awful. It's almost like a form of slavery from the sounds of it" he said. Hinata nodded stiffly and put a hand on her forehead.

"It is one of the things I will abolish as head of the Hyuga. As much as I dislike some of the members of the branch family, they're still people, and they deserve to be treated as such" she said firmly. Naruto smiled at the short speech.

"That's an awesome goal. Don't give up on it. You'll make a lot of people happy if you achieve it" he said. The Hyuga heiress returned the smile and leaned back in her chair.

"I don't plan on relenting. I will likely have to walk through some fire to make it a reality, but those seals will be outlawed within my lifetime. I swear it" she said. Hinata then noticed something about Naruto's face, namely his forehead. She slowly reached across the table and outstretched her fingers to graze two small marks on either side of his hairline, where her horns had pierced him.

"What are you…?" Naruto asked skeptically as the Hyuga girl slowly pulled her hand back and folded it in her lap.

"Those markings on your forehead. They're going to be permanent scars, aren't they?" she asked quietly. The Jinchuuriki sighed.

"Yeah, they will. I injected my chakra into you through your horns, which is why I pulled you towards me and deepened the wound. The chakra fried the skin so badly that those marks are permanent. It's no big deal, honestly. Scars are only visual" he assured her. Hinata shook her head and stood up.

"In a way, I marked you in the same way the main family marks the branch family. Every time you look in the mirror, you will be forced to remember the pain I caused you. I cannot control you with those scars, but I've imprinted myself on you in the worst way" she said as she made her way into his kitchen. Naruto stood up and followed her.

"I had to look at the scars this morning when I woke up. I didn't think of anything terrible when I saw them. What I thought of was how proud I was of surviving everything that happened. It motivated me to actually go for a run" he said as he and the heiress entered his small kitchen.

"Even if you find those marks to be motivational, it still hurts me to be reminded of my greatest blunder every time I look at your face, which is something I enjoy doing and do quite often" she said as she set down her handbag on the kitchen counter. The moment she had set the bag down, she realized that she had said a bit too much. She slowly glanced over her shoulder at Naruto, who was a rare shade of red.

"I'm...glad you...like my face?" he said awkwardly. Under most circumstances, Hinata would have likely lost her composure and burned red as well, but this occasion was different. For what reason, she did not know. A small grin slowly spread across her lips as she tilted her head to one side and studied the Jinchuuriki.

"You look quite..._nervous_, Naruto-kun. Is there any particular reason for that?" she asked innocently. Out of absolutely nowhere, the heiress was brimming with an alien confidence.

"I never said I was nervous" Naruto said defensively as he shifted uncomfortably in place. Hinata turned around and stepped forward into his personal space.

"Your body language says otherwise. Don't worry, I'm going to cook us a nice dinner. It's five-thirty now, so I think it's high time we ate something. Consider this my apology for blemishing your sweet face" she said with a giggle before turning and unpacking her handbag, which contained cooking supplies and ingredients.

"I'm going to go sit down now" Naurto said before retreating into the dining room again, leaving the heiress to herself to cook. The moment he was gone, the sudden surge of forward confidence she had experienced vanished completely.

'What on earth did I just do?' she wondered as she activated her byakugan to spy on the jinchuuriki, who appeared to be processing what he had just experienced. Hinata then mentally kicked herself.

'Wonderful. He's never been approached by either gender in such a manner, and now he's catatonic. What in god's name compelled me to do that?' she thought to herself with a sigh. She then went to work preparing a simple meal of noodles and chicken. Within twenty minutes, the food was cooked and ready to be consumed.

"I hope you like chicken" she said as she set down a plate in front of Naruto and sat down across from him. The blonde studied the food for a moment before shrugging and taking a bite of the meat. He chewed it for a moment before swallowing and smiling.

"Damn. Not bad at all. You're a good cook" he complimented. Hinata released the breath she had been holding and began to eat her own food.

"I'd like to think I am. Other than reading, cooking is one of my few hobbies" she said as she sampled the noodles. Naruto nodded and took another bite of the chicken.

"Are you going to be allowed to attend the finals of the exams?" he asked after several seconds of chewing. The Hyuga girl sighed.

"I don't know. Most likely, but there are no guarantees. Father let me visit you, so I like my chances. You are set to face Gaara, correct?" she asked. The excitable genin nodded once more.

"Yup. I just had to get paired up with the scariest guy in the room, didn't I?" he said humorously. Hinata chuckled and took a sip from her glass of water.

"I actually think that you may defeat him more easily than you anticipate. The difference in taijutsu between you two is monstrous. Should you close range and evade his sand, you'll be able to hit him as hard and as often as you want" she said. The Jinchuuriki pursed his lips.

"Getting around his sand is easier said than done. Lee is faster than I am, and probably still a better representative of taijutsu, and he had a hell of a tough time past a certain point. I think I'm more durable than Lee, but he's way stronger when he's using the gates" he said. The heiress sighed.

"Try to think positively. A defeatist mindset will lead you to exactly that, defeat. I have confidence in your ability to adjust as the fight goes on and find a way to win. If push comes to shove, you also have enormous reserves of power that you refused to utilize against me. I think you'll be just fine, Naruto-kun" she said. The blonde glanced at her somewhat nervously.

"So you knew I was holding back, huh? You probably don't like that I did that, right?" he asked. Hinata gazed at him for a moment.

"Initially, it made me angry that you didn't fight me at the height of your strength, but after reviewing the battle in my mind, I have a different outlook on the situation" she said. Naruto squirmed a bit under her stare.

"What do you think of it all now?" he asked. The heiress finished the last of her chicken and set the plate aside.

"You knocked me unconscious with a single strike at the end of our match. Had you unleashed the full breadth of your power, you would have blown me into the stratosphere. It would have been even more humiliating than being beaten by you in a drawn out slugfest. Thank you for allowing me to fight. I hate to lose, no matter the circumstances, but you made this loss much easier to accept. Both during and after the fact" she said. The blonde shrugged.

"I genuinely had to fight for my life once you transformed. You were stronger than I was man to man. I needed the fox to beat you. Be proud of that" he replied. The pair continued to discuss the upcoming finals and the matches that would be taking place for another half and hour before Hinata stood up from her chair and turned to leave.

"As much as I am enjoying myself, I must be off now. Breaking curfew is the last thing I need to be doing in my current situation" she said as she made her way towards the door. As she opened it and stepped into the hallway, Naruto called out to her awkwardly.

"Hey, Hinata" he said. The Hyuga heiress looked back over her shoulder at him and gestured for him to continue.

"Out with it, Naruto-kun. I don't have all night" she urged. The Jinchuuriki smiled at her and gave her a thumbs-up.

"I like your face, too" he said. Hinata stared at him silently for several seconds as her cheeks and ears tinted themselves pink. She then fully stepped into the hallway.

"That's good, because you're going to be seeing quite a bit of it from here on out"

* * *

**A/N: Training begins next chapter. I'll be mixing it up and vary who he trains with and how often. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	25. Restless Children, a Troublesome Woman

**A/N: Had finals to study for yesterday, so I wasn't able to upload at all. Hope you all enjoy this one regardless.**

**Time for chapter 25**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Shikamaru sighed and leaned back in his chair as he grappled with the boredom that was quickly consuming him. It had been three days since the preliminary round of the chunin exams, and nothing of note had happened. While many, if not all of the other nominees for the final round were preparing specifically for their individual opponents, the Nara saw no point in doing so, and as such, he had little to do.

'This sucks. I can't even train with my own team outside of morning practice, and my folks aren't much help because they 'haven't seen my opponent in action'. They just want me to do my own training, I'll bet' he thought tiredly. His thoughts then wandered to his future opponent.

'Temari of the Sand. A long range, ninjutsu-centric offensive dynamo who specializes in Wind-Style. Tough riddle to crack. She just about snapped Tenten in half, and it looked like she could have done it a dozen times over without breaking a sweat. Specific preparation isn't possible. I don't have anything to work with' contemplated as he ordered himself another cup of tea from the waiter of the cafe he was sitting in.

'At least I don't have to fight her brother. I feel like I can figure her out given enough time, but Gaara is unsolvable for me. The difference in power is too much. Naruto might be able to beat him, but I have my doubts. Even if what he showed against Hinata was less than half of what he can really do, it may not be enough' he thought to himself. The shadow user then glanced out the large glass pane that made up the outside wall of the establishment.

As he gazed out the large window, he spotted the exact reason he was eating lunch alone. Hinata, who looked quite happy, walking alongside a very tired, but quite pleasant-faced Naruto.

'I just don't get it. She tried to maim you, and pretty much did, three days ago. Despite that, you've been friendlier with her than ever before. God, sometimes it feels like I should just do my own missions. They're off in their own little world. Even when they're at each other's throats' he grumbled mentally as he watched them walk past.

"I never took you for the sulking type. Guess looks can be deceiving"

Shikamaru flinched and turned his eyes back towards the chair on the opposite side of his small table, where Temari now sat with a look of boredom on her face. The shadow user raised an eyebrow at her sudden presence.

"As if my day couldn't get any more irritating. I hate being snuck up on" he said irritatedly a he reached for his cup to take a sip. The sand kunoichi shrugged and snatched his tea cup away from his side of the table before downing the rest of its contents.

"And I hate being ignored. I've been sitting here staring at you since you started watching your star-crossed teammates. Five minutes, just about" she said as she wiped her lips and slid the cup across the table to the lazy genin.

"Any particular reason you just guzzled my saliva-ridden tea? That's more than a little gross" Shikamaru asked tiredly. Temari snorted and folded her arms across her chest.

"Do I seem like the type of girl to care about a little excess fluid?" she countered. The shadow user rested his chin on his hand and rubbed his eyes with his free arm.

"I haven't the slightest idea what kind of girl you are, and I don't exactly care either. We've had exactly one conversation" he replied. The sand kunoichi held up a cluster of fingers.

"Three conversations. Counting this one, at least. In the hallway, on the rooftop, and now here" she corrected. Shikamaru chuckled and leaned back in his chair, a look of amusement forming on his face.

"Look who's counting. Am I really that memorable?" he asked jokingly. The fan wielder leaned back in her chair as well to mirror his posture, a gesture that immediately made the Nara uncomfortable.

"From what I've seen, you're boring as hell. What makes you even remotely compelling is that you're the first person to ever find a way off of Gaara's hit list. Pat yourself on the back, you should be proud of that" she said. Shikamaru returned to his usual hunched posture and shrugged.

"I didn't even do anything. It's not like I scared him off or anything. I just existed for a little while and he got bored of me. Nothing to write home about, just like me" he said through a yawn. Temari studied him for a moment before frowning.

"This is a little off topic, but what did you think of that match between your teammates? Because it looked to me like that could have been the end of whatever semblance of structure your cell had" she asked. The shadow user gave her a tired look.

"It made me angry. Hinata gave into a power she had no control over for the sake of her ego, and she was damn lucky that Naruto happened to be her opponent. He held back for her sake, he tried to reason with her. Hell, he even shaved off part of his lifespan for her to suppress the power _she_ gave into. Our sensei also arranged the match, so I got pissed at him for that. In general, that fight sucked" he said bluntly.

Temari, to his surprise, nodded in agreement and gave him a look of something resembling sympathy.

"I don't know a single detail of what was going on during that match, but I do know this: the girl is luckier than she could ever fully understand. Naruto, or whatever his name is, could have just chin-checked her right away and been done with it. But no, he chose to draw it out and give her a chance to achieve catharsis" she said. The shadow user glanced out the window once more.

"The strangest part about this whole thing is that she and Naruto seem to be closer now than they were. I know for a fact that she apologized to him. Hell, she apologized to _me_ for some reason. What I don't understand is how she could have changed the trajectory of Naruto's feelings by just talking to him" he contemplated. Temari chuckled.

"Either she did a little more than _talk _to him, if you catch my drift, or she and Naruto bonded during the fight somehow" she said. Shikamaru stretched and cracked his stiff neck.

"Hinata is many things, but a whore isn't one of them. Option one is more than a little outlandish. Option two is weird, but not all that far off from par for the course when it comes to Team Seven" he said. The sand kunoichi furrowed her eyebrows.

"It's a fairly simple concept to understand. When you inflict copious amounts of damage on another person all while absorbing more or less the same amount along the way, your respect for that person increases" she explained. The lazy genin shook his head.

"I don't get into fist fights. I wouldn't know. When I win, I do it from a nice, long distance. Taking damage has never appealed to me" he said. Temari grinned at the sentiment.

"You're out of luck then. I'm going to force you into a fist fight whether you want to engage me or not. Trust me, it's a boon to you. At long range, I'll fillet you" she said confidently. The shadow user sighed.

"Go right ahead. I don't really care about the promotion. I'm only in this so either Naruto or Hinata get a chance to become chunin. If you blow me out of the water in thirty seconds, I'll be just as happy, because that means I can just go home quickly" he said. The fan wielder frowned.

"How the hell have you even made it this far?" she asked bluntly. Shikamaru laughed out loud at the dumbfounded question.

"I have absolutely no idea. Things just tend to work out for me. I don't know what to tell you" he replied. Temari stared at him for several seconds before shaking her head and standing up to leave. As she walked away, the shadow user asked the question that had been burning in his mind.

"What were you even doing here in the first place?" he called out as she made her way towards the door. The sand kunoichi glanced back over her shoulder.

"I had orders to observe you and make preparations based on what I saw. I got bored watching you and decided to gather information the old-fashioned way" she explained. Shikamaru chuckled.

"And now that you've completed your 'mission', what have you figured out about me?" he asked curiously. Temari remained silent for a moment.

"That you're sly as a fox, boring as a wall of dry paint, and about as driven as a homeless drunk" she said before exiting the cafe and leaving the lazy genin alone. Shikamaru followed her with his eyes through the glass pane as she walked away and thanked the waiter, who had brought him his tea.

'What I learned about _you_ is that you're absolutely going to make me want to tear my hair out. A troublesome woman, that's what you are'

* * *

Hanabi blew a strand of hair out of her eyes as she walked through the streets of Konoha. She had been granted a free day for the first time in months, and she had absolutely nothing to do with the free time.

'I guess this is what happens when you never take a break. You forget what you did before you settled into your routine. This is horribly dull' she thought to herself as she kicked a stray rock away into an alley and continued to walk. After several more minutes of aimless travel, she spotted a ripe source of entertainment. Team Ebisu, consisting of Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon. The trio was wandering about the streets, much like Hanabi herself.

'Now this could be fun' the Hyuga girl thought to herself as she changed her trajectory to intercept the oncoming group of her fellow academy students. After a moment, the two moving entities made their metaphorical collision. The moment they caught sight of Hanabi, Team Ebisu collectively froze.

"Good afternoon, Moegi-san, Udon-san, Konohamaru-san" the Hyuga girl greeted, a sly grin on her face. Moegi and Udon immediately bowed and shouted back an automatic reply.

"Good afternoon to you as well, Hanabi-sama!" they both said simultaneously. Unlike his comrades, Konohamaru made no move to bow or grovel. Instead, he gave her a glare.

"What do you want, Hanabi? Actually, no, why are you even out here in general? Don't you have family stuff to do?" he asked bluntly. The Hyuga girl's grin widened at his defiant remark.

'Boundless defiance and a complete lack of caring for things such as social status. Never change, Konohamaru-kun' she thought to herself as she took another step forward.

"I have been given the day off. Shocking, I know. As for what I want, I would like nothing more than to wander around with you three" she replied. The group before her all stared at her blankly for a moment.

"Sure, if you really want to. We're not going to be doing anything exciting, though" Konohamaru said with a shrug. Moegi and Udon both looked to their leader fearfully.

"I, uh, have somewhere to be. My parents are expecting me home soon" Udon said quickly as he rapidly retreated. Moegi soon followed him, not bothering to give an excuse as she scurried away. The Hyuga girl furrowed her eyebrows.

"Why the sudden surge of fear? I thought I looked quite nice today" she muttered. Konohamaru snorted and began to walk, prompting Hanabi to follow.

"Can you really blame them? The last time we let you tag along, you tied Moegi up in a tree with her hair and did your weird Hyuga thing to Udon's legs so he couldn't walk" he pointed out as they trekked through the streets. The Hyuga girl laughed a bit as she recalled the occasion being referenced.

"Oh, come on! Both of those things were _hilarious_! Even you cannot deny that" she said. The Hokage's grandson scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, maybe they were, but it still wasn't nice" he said. The Hyuga girl responded by stepping into him and latching onto his arm in exaggerated fashion.

"Then let me make it up to you. I'll be _extra_ nice to you today" she purred as Konohamaru struggled against her grip.

"You're a creep" he grumbled as he was forced to allow Hanabi to cling to him. Despite the fairly hushed tone of his comment, he was heard by his pushy companion. The Hyuga girl silently injected a bit of chakra into his arm, numbing it instantly.

"Watch your tongue, Konohamaru-san. You might lose it if you don't" she threatened lightly. Despite the dark nature of her words, her tone held no legitimate content, and the slight smile had not left her face.

"Could you let go of my arm?" the Hokage's grandson asked irritatedly as they walked along. Hanabi shook her head and began to pull him in another direction.

"You'll run if I let go of you, and as much as I'd enjoy chasing you down like the prey you are, I would rather relax on my day off. Now quit struggling. I'll numb your legs next if you don't" she said as she yanked him. Konohamaru stumbled a bit as his body weight was pulled along.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked fearfully. Hanabi grinned at his obvious apprehension and gave him an innocent look.

"I feel like I should bring you home with me. That way, we'll be playing in my domain" she said, eliciting a fearful gasp from the Hokage's grandson.

"Alright, _no_" he said before breaking free from her grip and beginning to run. Hanabi sighed heavily and sprinted after him. After a brief race through the somewhat crowded streets, the Hyuga girl caught up with him and tripped out one of his legs.

"Didn't I tell you that I wanted to relax today? You could at least _try_ to be considerate" she grumbled as she picked him up from the ground and slung him over her shoulder.

"Unless you want me to paralyze you completely, don't struggle. Just...let me have this, okay?" she said as she began to walk back towards the Hyuga Estate. Konohamaru considered defying her once more, but thought better of it.

"You're really weird. Naruto told me your family is full of scary women. I guess he was right" he said. Hanabi huffed a bit at the comment.

"Uzumaki-san has only met my sister and I. He has no idea what he's talking about. Besides, I am much scarier than Hinata-nesan" she replied. The Hokage's grandson snickered.

"Keep telling yourself that. Hinata is terrifying. She even scares Naruto" he said. The Hyuga girl shrugged.

"Uzumaki-san, unlike you, has a functioning brain. He knows who to fear and when. You, on the other hand, are as fearless as you are stupid. Which is both endearing and frustrating all at the same time" she said as she carried him through the front gates of the Estate. As Hanabi walked towards the main house, somebody came out of the front door.

"Hanabi-sama? What are you...doing?" Neji, who was carrying a pile of dishes that were to be cleaned by the branch family, asked. The Hyuga girl glanced up at Konohamaru and then looked back to her cousin.

"Exactly what it looks like. I am carrying Konohamaru-san into the Estate in order to prevent him from escaping me today. He is quite squirmy when given space to run" she explained. Neji set the dishes down on the porch and rubbed his temples.

"I feel the need to point out that without having been given his consent, this is more akin to kidnapping than a simple playdate" he said.

"See? He gets it!" Konohamaru chimed in from Hanabi's shoulder. The Hyuga girl responded by dumping him to the ground and using the top of his head as an armrest.

"Be that as it may, I highly doubt he will press charges. Both he and I are eight years of age, and legal action between children is uncommon" she said as the Hokage's Grandson struggled under her weight.

"Make sure no harm comes to him" Neji said with a sigh as he picked up the dishes and made went on his way. Hanabi then allowed Konohamaru to stand and dust himself off. She then clapped her hands together and smiled.

"Now that you're here, you're going to entertain me. So either start running, or get creative. Either one works for me" she said. Konohamaru frowned at the half order, half request.

"You said earlier that you wanted to relax. Why did you bring me here if you just want to chase me around?" he asked skeptically. Hanabi giggled.

"That skull of yours really is hollow. I quite enjoy chasing and tackling you. I only brought you here to make sure you couldn't just disappear into a crowd of people to elude me. As I said, we're playing in my domain by my rules. Now get moving" she commanded while taking a step forward. Konohamaru needed no further hints. He took off running at full blast towards one of the property walls with Hanabi soon following. Unbeknownst to them, somebody else had occupied the open door-frame of the main house soon after Neji had left.

Hiashi chuckled to himself and stepped back inside the building, closing the door behind him.

'Perhaps I should give them all more days off. Youth doesn't last forever. I would know'

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the longer wait on this one! I had finals to take and studying to do beforehand. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	26. Stones Better Left Unturned

**A/N: I survived finals, my friends. I now have a few days to do whatever I want, so let's get the ball rolling.**

**Time for chapter 26**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto spat blood out of his mouth and cursed under his breath as he struggled to his feet to face Lee. The Jinchuuriki had sought out the recently-recovered genin earlier that day in order to ask for advice in facing Gaara, as Lee had nearly beaten the Sand ninja during the preliminary round. Instead of simply explaining his process, Lee had opted to spar with Naruto. The matches had been strictly taijutsu, and the jumpsuit-wearing ninja had dominated them.

'He's so much faster than me. No wonder he was tuning Gaara up' Naruto thought to himself as he readied himself for another engagement. As he stepped to go on the attack, he was buckled to his knees by a hard bunch between the eyes from Lee. As he fell to his rear-end, Naruto braced himself for the inevitable follow-up. To his surprise, it never came.

"That's enough for today, Naruto-san. I have seen what I need to see" Lee said as he offered a hand to the fallen Jinchuuriki. Naruto took the hand and rose to his feet.

"You're quick as hell. I feel bad for Gaara now" he joked. Lee laughed a bit and stepped back a few feet to give the blonde space to regain his bearings.

"You shouldn't. Whoever he is, Gaara is very dangerous, and he appears to be unstable" he said as he recalled his brutal encounter with the redhead. The excitable genin nodded and stretched out his joints and limbs.

"What do you think of my chances against him?" he asked curiously. The jumpsuit-wearing genin winced at the question.

"You are a fine practitioner of taijutsu. You take small, measured steps to slide in genuinely nice counters, and you aren't terrible defensively. If you were to be locked in a small box with Gaara, you would easily dominate the exchanges and likely knock him out fairly quickly, but in open space, you aren't likely to win this fight. You simply aren't fast enough" he said honestly. Naruto sighed.

"That's kind of what I was thinking too. You were able to get to him by just shocking him out of the gate. I don't have that kind of raw speed. Do you have any suggestions for how I could close the distance?" he asked. Lee nodded.

"My speed began to leave me as I tired against Gaara, so I had to find ways inside his defenses that didn't rely on my ability to simple out-run the sand. His sand is semi-sentient. It almost appears to have its own field of vision. It anticipates where you're going to go, and it adjusts its trajectory accordingly. As such, it can be confused by feints and misdirection. My ability to use the gates certainly helped, though" he explained.

"So in other words, I need to freak out his sand with weird trickery. That sounds...kinda hard to do" Naruto said while scratching the back of his head. Lee sighed.

"It took every bit of my mental fortitude to not lay down and quit once I started to tire. Adjusting to Gaara on the fly is both difficult and excessively dangerous. The moment he smells blood, he attacks relentlessly. That sand also seems to be seperate from his chakra supply, so he himself does not lose energy for using it" he said. Naruto then thought for a moment.

"Would it be possible for you to teach me how to use at least the first gate? I'm naturally a harder hitter than you are, so the boost in speed would be all I would need. Could that work?" he asked. The jumpsuit-wearing ninja raised an eyebrow.

"I mean no offense to you, Naruto-san, but it took years of specialized conditioning for my body to be able to handle even the first gate. We don't have the time" he said. Naruto shook his head and closed his eyes. He soon re-opened them, revealing a pair of red irises.

"That won't apply to me. I can cheat my way around it" he said as Lee stared at him wide-eyed. After several moments of silence, the boy with the bowl cut nodded.

"If those eyes signify what I think they do, then your ability to allegedly walk through Hinata-san's strikes without any ill effects makes perfect sense. Let's get working then. We have much to do" he said. Naruto took a deep breath and prepared himself.

'This is probably going to suck'

* * *

Kakashi winced as he swallowed his too-hot tea. For all of his many experiences and skills, the judging of temperatures had never been a strong-suit of the jonin. As he forcefully downed the liquid, he returned his attention to Might Guy, who was sitting across from him at the cafe table, a look of amusement on his face.

"Perhaps we should compete to see who has a greater tolerance for heat. I may still defeat you yet, Kakashi" he joked as he sipped his far more reasonably heated tea. The silver haired ninja sighed and set his cup down.

"Save till after the exams are wrapped up and in the past. The final round is in about a month, and I hate the feeling I'm getting in the interim" he said. Guy nodded and glanced out the window.

"As do I. Maybe I'm a bit biased, but watching Lee lose at the height of his power to that Gaara boy was more than a little jarring. No genin should have been able to survive that technique. Most _chunin_ would have died on impact. I just don't understand it. The sand only did so much to cushion the force of the collision. That was a feat of sheer durability" he said with a shake of his head. Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"You mean you really haven't pieced it all together yet?" he asked vaguely. The taijutsu specialist gave his comrade a confused look.

"What do you mean? Something you know that I don't?" he replied skeptically. Kakashi nodded and leaned across the table a few inches.

"Like Naruto, Gaara is a Jinchuuriki. Specifically, he harbors the One-Tailed Tanuki, Shukaku. Suna has had control of the One-Tail for the past few decades, but they've always kept the identities of their current, past, and future Jinchuuriki quiet. The ability to wield sand, the unnatural physical durability, and an underlying degree of insanity. All traits of a host of Shukaku. Lee never had a chance. I'm sorry, Guy, but no matter how hard and how often Lee was able to hit him, he was never on his way to a victory" he explained.

Guy clenched his jaw for a moment, but allowed himself to relax and leaned back in his chair. He then chuckled a bit.

"I'm still proud of him, Kakashi. He still put the fear of god into that boy. Gaara felt fear. He dislikes being hit, and he dislikes the feeling of helplessness. Even if he was never close to being beaten in the big picture, he was beaten pillar to post" he said proudly. Kakashi smiled at his friend's optimistic demeanor. The pair then lapsed into silence for several moments before Kakashi asked the question that had been burning in his mind.

"As a person who was greatly invested in the fight between Gaara and Lee and also watched Naruto and Hinata fight, what do you think Naruto's chances are? Before you answer that, you should probably know that Naruto was operating at around forty percent of his maximum against Hinata" he asked. Guy stroked his chin for a few seconds as he analyzed the information being presented to him.

"Should we take your estimate of Naruto's power at face value, he's still less than a fifth as powerful as Lee past the fourth gate. The one _massive_ advantage that Naruto has that Lee doesn't is endurance. He can sustain his maximum for much longer. He's weaker than Gaara even at full strength, but he may be able to wear him down. Gaara appeared to tire from constantly forced to defend" he replied. The silver haired ninja nodded.

"That was my assumption as well. Naruto likes to prepare specific things for his opponents. He had no way to know he would be facing Hinata in the prelims, but he knew he could just out-horsepower everybody but Neji, although he wasn't aware of Lee at the time. So, to make sure he would win his match, he prepared a variety of pre-determined counters and maneuvers. Most of what you saw against Hinata was him running on auto-pilot. It was all muscle-memory for him by then" he said. Guy grinned.

"A game-planner, eh? A good trait to have. I wouldn't have expected that from Naruto" he said with an approving nod. Kakashi chuckled.

"He's smarter than he gets credit for. He just happens to be teammates with the two most purely intelligent people in his class" he said. The taijutsu specialist shook his head.

"Hinata may be a quicker study, but she isn't a smarter fighter. Naruto may have been simply firing off pre-programmed triggers, but he also adjusted them to Hinata's slight differences from Neji. He routinely changed subtle aspects of his positioning and altered his timing to poke holes in her defenses. Hinata failed to make any major adjustments at all. Though, some of that could be attributed to her complete lack of emotional stability during that match" he said. Kakashi winced and nodded.

"She was more than a little unstable. For all of her differences from Neji, and the difference in proficiency between she and her cousin, she was a much more imposing physical force once she fully gave into the curse mark. It required quite a bit of self-control for Naruto not to just blast her right then and there. I still think he should have just suppressed the seal immediately instead of drawing it out" he said.

Guy downed the rest of his tea and glanced out the window again before standing up to leave.

"I agree. He took more damage than was necessary. There's probably more to his reasoning than we know of, but at face value, it was a foolish choice. Come, Kakashi. I hereby challenge you to a race" he said. The silver haired ninja sighed and stood up from his seat as well.

"Abrupt as ever, Guy"

* * *

Hinata smiled with satisfaction as she observed the eighth and final dining hall of the Hyuga estate. Everything was immaculate, from the dining cloth to the floorboards. The Hyuga girl removed her maid's apron and set it aside as she glanced up at the clock.

'Ten forty-five. Quite a late start, but It matters not. I have some...observation to do' she thought to herself as she made her way to the front door and threw on her coat. As she exited the main house, a cold breeze blew through the night, prompting Hinata to put up her hood and jam her hand into her pockets.

'October is always the beginning of unpleasant weather. I won't my alter my schedule for it, though. Naruto-kun requires guardianship, after all' she thought to herself with a giggle. She then set out through the gates of the estate into the cold night of October 2nd. As she walked through the streets, the wind began to die. Eventually, the air went completely dead. Still as a corpse, silent as a mime.

'This...doesn't feel natural. The temperature is exactly the same. Wind chill dictates that the absence of any wind would cause the temperature to increase' Hinata thought skeptically as she approached the district in which Naruto's apartment complex stood. The closer she came to the building, the more and more uneasy she became. Soon after entering the district, she caught sight of the source of the dead winds and unnerving sense of dread.

Sitting on the bench that Hinata herself had occupied on countless quiet nights was Gaara of the Desert. He wore a dark, amused grin that suggested that he had been expecting her.

"Imagine meeting you here" he greeted in a tone of faux joviality. Hinata clenched her jaw and slowly stepped forward as a separate emotion overtook her unease.

"What are you doing out here?" she demanded. The redhead raised an eyebrow and stood up, prompting Hinata to step back several feet.

"Right ot the point, hm? Such impatience. Can't I take in the urban scenery? I am a tourist, after all" he replied. The Hyuga girl narrowed her eyes.

"Care explaining why you're outside of this building? Don't be coy, it won't serve you well if you do" she asked as she forced herself to calm. Gaara glanced back at the apartment complex and began to chuckle. The chuckle soon evolved into a sanguinary laugh that echoed through the streets and alleyways.

"Serve me well? Is that a threat? Please tell me that it is. I'm just _starved_ for some excitement" he asked. Hinata suddenly felt compelled to run in the opposite direction. As she lapsed into silence, Gaara's surge of excitement shifted back into stoicism.

"That's what I thought. If you have nothing to threaten someone with, keep your mouth shut and your head down. Weaklings have no place at the metaphorical table" he said coldly. The heiress felt her anger surge at the comment, but pushed it down, as she knew that the entity before her was far beyond her capabilities.

"You still haven't answered my question. Why are you sitting idly before Naruto-kun's-" she began, opting not to finish the sentence once she realized that she had answered her own question. The sand shinobi sat back down on the bench and studied the Hyuga girl.

"My reasoning is quite simple. I simply wanted to see where my opponent lives. I like to be well studied when facing a new person. Especially an enemy" he replied. Hinata felt her stomach twist at the eerie similarity between Gaara's speech and something she had once told Naruto regarding her then-new habit of following him home.

"I mean no harm to him as of now. I have no reason whatsoever to kill him. No, his blood won't be spilled for another twenty-nine days, eight hours, and thirty-seven minutes. Worry not, little girl" the redhead assured darkly. Hinata took a step forward once more.

"And why should I believe a word from your wretched mouth?" she snapped. Gaara gave her an amused look before responding.

"Let me answer your question with another question. Are you _really_ any more trustworthy than I am? Should you be given the benefit of the doubt? Given what I recently discovered, I don't think you should be allowed to come to this building. Especially at night" he asked. Hinata scrunched up her eyebrows at the question.

"What on earth are you talking about? You don't know a thing about me, and even if you did, you would find that I'm perfectly trustworthy" she said. The redhead chuckled.

"As surprising as it was that you gave into that seal on your neck, it made for excellent entertainment. Your match became much more violent, and better yet, your emotions became raw and uncensored. Readable is an understatement" he said. Hinata's eyes narrowed as the redhead spoke.

"I don't know if it's a universal ability of people like myself, but I've always had the ability to detect negative or sinful emotion. When you gave into that seal, the entirety of the arena became flooded in your pathetic teen angst. Out of curiosity, I decided to delve into them and take them apart. And let me tell you, what I found was fascinating" he said as he began to file his nails with a kunai. Hinata opened her mouth to respond, but found that it was dry and paralyzed.

"I knew what to expect, generally speaking. Plenty of anger, multiple different forms of jealousy, and an ocean of self-loathing. What I didn't expect was the underlying flavor of _lust_ that permeated it all. Even for a person like myself, that's a bit extreme" he said. Hinata's hands tightened into fists in response to his outlandishly harsh accusations.

"You don't know what you're talking about" she said firmly. Gaara grinned at her defiant confidence and began to speak again.

"Your tone of voice is a dead giveaway. Back to the point, the fact that one of your primary emotions when battering Naruto was lust points to a dark underbelly to that queenly demeanor you maintain. Given that your eyes have the ability to see through solid objects, it would stand to reason that one of your reasons for coming here is more than a bit perverse" he said. The Hyuga girl burned red with indignation as he spoke.

"Now, even if you weren't planning on going beyond simple peeping, there are no guarantees that you wouldn't lose your patience and...imprint yourself on him. Sexual assault is a felony, you know" Gaara mocked. Hinata gritted her teeth and threw a punch towards the Jinchuuriki's face, but missed by a mile as her arm was redirected by a tendril of sand.

"You're digging your own hole. All I've done is give you a shovel" Gaara said as he stood up and began to walk past Hinata, who was shaking with anger. After several moments of walking, the redhead glanced back over his shoulder at the heiress.

"You and I are quite similar. Whether you choose to acknowledge it or not is entirely up to you" he concluded with finality. The Jinchuuriki's footsteps gradually grew quiet as the seconds ticked away. Once he was entirely out of earshot, Hinata released the breath she had been holding. As she collected herself, she uncurled her fists. Her nails had dug into her palms and drawn specks of blood. She gazed down at the red pinpoints and pondered the turbulant conversation that had just occured.

'Why did that..._bother_ me so much? Nearly all of what he said was foolhardy, but still' she thought to herself. Her gaze was then drawn up to the window of Naruto, which was closed to sheild against the night wind.

'I meant him no harm, none at all. Though, I would certainly be lying if I said I wouldn't...enjoy him. With consent, of course' she mused. The moment the thought had crossed her mind, the heiress shook her head rapidly and tore her eyes away from the window.

'I'm not in the right place mentally to be staying out so late. Not at all' she admitted to herself. She then cast one last glance up to the dwelling of her teammate before turning her back and beginning her trek home.

'Goodnight, Naruto-kun'

* * *

**A/N: Some of you may be confused by the meaning of the closing scene, but try to read a few times. It'll come to you pretty quick. Hope you all enjoyed it anyways!**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	27. Guilty Bliss

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait people. Just had my Wisdom Teeth removed. Painful is an understatement lol. Let's get writing**

**Time for chapter 27**

**Enjoy!**

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Naruto winced as he limped his way through his front door. It was nearly nine o'clock, and training had been brutal. Despite the regeneration afforded to him by the fox's chakra, opening the first gate was still incredibly strenuous. Each time he attempted to force the node open, his entire body seemed to light itself on fire.

'Man, Lee has got to be made of steel. Even with the regeneration, I can barely walk after trying to open it. That guy is something else, that's for sure' he thought as he hobbled onto his couch and flopped down. He then felt a fiery pulse rip through his body, causing him to yelp a bit as he twitched from the burning sensation.

'...and I think the fox disagrees with me using the gates. Thanks, furball' he grumbled within his mind, earning another surge of searing pain from the demon. Naruto then shifted onto his back and wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. He sighed heavily and clenched his jaw as his head pounded.

'Did you just give me a fever, asshole?' he demanded. A low snort could be heard from the darkest corners of his mind in response to the question.

'**Maybe, maybe not. You certainly deserve one. Opening the gates in any capacity is torture for me. It feels like an electric shock. Consider this an equalizer' **the fox replied. Naruto groaned and rubbed his temples as he tried and failed to quell the pain in his skull. Eventually, he gave up. After attempting to negotiate with the fox for several pointless minutes, the blonde came to the realization that he was irreversibly stuck in his current rut.

'I'm tired, I'm sick, and I'm sore. Great, just great' he sulked mentally as he turned over on the couch. After several more minutes of irritating discomfort, a knock came at his door. Not wanting to aggravate his throbbing head with the act of sitting up and walking to the door, the blonde opted to call out to the person on the other side.

"Who is it?" he half-yelled, half-groaned. There was a moment of silence as the person who stood beyond the door seemed to gather their words.

"It's me, Naruto-kun. Is now a bad time?" came Hinata's voice. The blonde sighed and glanced over to the door.

"Come on in. Just gonna warn you in advance, though. I'm not going to be any fun today" he called. The door then creaked open as Hinata entered his dwelling. The heiress glanced around the room for a moment before spotting the jinchuuriki and making her way over to him.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her tone wrife with concern. Naruto shook his head and slowly sat up, clutching his head as he did so.

"I pissed off the fox and he decided to give me a fever. Not sure how he did it, but it worked. I feel like garbage right now" he said honestly. Hinata remained silent as she studied him carefully. After a moment, she sat down next to him on the couch.

"You look like a dead man walking. How unfortunate" she said as she slowly scooted herself closer to him. Naruto raised an eyebrow as Hinata gently reached out for his hands, which were still occupied with the sides of his pounding head. The heiress softly took hold of his hands and pulled them away from his skull, delicately replacing them with her own.

"May I?" she asked as she slowly pulled his head down toward her lap. Naruto sighed and allowed her to rest his head on her lap.

"What's all this about?" he asked. Hinata responded by emitting a low green glow from the palms of her hands.

"I know a limited degree of medical ninjutsu. I found a book on it a few months ago, and figured it may come in handy at some point" she explained as she dulled the pain in the Jinchuuriki's cranium. Naruto sighed in relief as his discomfort was quelled.

"That's kind of incredible, actually. They say medical jutsu is super hard to learn. You're really something if you're this good at it after only a few months" he complimented. The Hyuga girl silently celebrated at the confirmation of his lessening pain.

"I have a knack for chakra control, so it's only natural that I would be fairly good at this kind of thing. My skill is still limited, though. I cannot do anything more than soothe your pain for a little while" she said. Naruto chuckled.

"You're actually smiling. That's new. You're usually wearing that 'I would strangle a kitten' look on your face" he joked. Hinata frowned at the remark.

"I would never harm an animal, much less a kitten. I love kittens…" she said. The blonde smiled at her reaction.

"That's interesting. I never thought of you as the motherly type, but I guess everybody has the capacity" he said. Hinata shook her head and softened her grip on the sides of his head.

"I'm not motherly or one to fuss. Only for you and kittens. _Only" _she clarified, causing Naruto to turn red. Hinata herself gained a pink tint to her face and ears, but the light smile never left her face. She then leaned down brushed her lips against his forehead.

"Wha-" Naruto began. He was silenced by a finger to his lips from the heiress before he could finish his befuddled question.

"Consider this my apology. Now relax and let me fuss a little. Contrary to popular belief, I _am_ a girl, and girls like to fawn over their favorite boys" she said in uncharacteristically soft fashion. The blonde glanced away from her face.

"What is this an apology for?" he asked. Hinata tensed momentarily as she recalled her dark and uncomfortable conversation with Gaara several nights previously, after which she had actively avoided the blonde.

"Let's...not stress the details. I simply feel the need to show you a great deal of gratitude and affection today. I know that you don't entirely return my feelings just yet, but I implore you, please accept my care. At least for now" she said quietly. Naruto sighed and allowed his body to fall limp.

"I know I've said this before, but I don't understand you, Hinata. You can be so cold for long stretches, but sometimes you're the most comforting person I know. You tell me how much you care, you fawn over me, and you make me feel like I'm actually something close to loved. Just...why can't you be consistent? I would be all for a relationship with you if you were" he asked carefully. Hinata sighed and hid her eyes behind her bangs as she ran a hand through Naruto's hair.

"I don't know how to treat people I care about. I can be fairly consistent with my sister, but even that took time. My view of you has also changed so dramatically that it almost feels wrong to adore you the way I do. When I say impolite things to you, it hurts me. I can't seem to stop despite that. I know it doesn't mean much, but I really am sorry for the times I've hurt your feelings" she said. The Jinchuuriki reached up and brushed her hair away from her eyes.

"I know that you don't mean most of what you say to me. Besides, it's not like I don't push your buttons. You have every right to snap back at me. I just wish you wouldn't jump to personal insults right away" he said with a chuckle. The Hyuga heiress sighed and laid one of her hands over the hand Naruto had used to move her hair aside.

"I have nothing to insult but things you cannot control. You aren't faultless, not even close, but you do more right than wrong. I'm too competitive for my own good" she said as she grasped his hand.

"You're being a lot more touchy-feely than you normally are" Naruto commented as Hinata contentedly returned his hand to his body. The Hyuga girl chuckled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I quite enjoyed cuddling with you in the hospital. This is giving me a similar feeling. What can I say? I enjoy touching you" she said. The blonde raised an eyebrow.

"That sounded really dirty" he said jokingly. Hinata immediately huffed and injected a jolt of chakra into his neck.

"Get your mind out of the gutter. I simply enjoy your warmth and huggable body shape" she said as Naruto jittered from the chakra.

"Zero to sixty, just like that. You're real scary sometimes" he said as he rubbed the side of his neck. Hinata smiled and manually closed his eyes, a silent order Naruto begrudgingly followed.

"Yes, I am. Now go to sleep. You need it" she commanded gently. The Jinchuuriki then relaxed completely and evened his breathing. After a moment, the heiress sighed happily and traced the whisker-esque markings on his face.

"Goodnight, Naruto-kun"

* * *

Hiashi rubbed his eyes as he approached the front door of Naruto's apartment. It was nearly three in the morning, and Hinata had not returned home yet. Of all the places she possibly could have been, the blonde's dwelling was unquestionably the most likely. After knocking on the door for several moments, the Hyuga clan head opted to simply enter the apartment without an invitation. Once inside, he closed the door behind him and looked around, quickly spotting his daughter.

'How wholesome' he thought to himself as he made his way over to Hinata, who was asleep in an upright position on the couch with Naruto's head gently laid in her lap. Hiashi gently squeezed the girl's shoulder, waking her instantly. Her face immediately contorted with fear at the sight of her father. Before she could react, the clan head put a finger to his lips and sat down across from her on a nearby chair.

"Would you mind explaining your current position to me? Be honest" he asked in a hushed tone. Hinata shifted in place, being careful not to wake the Jinchuuriki she was cradling.

"He came down with a fever and was already exhausted from his daily training. I used what little medical ninjutsu that I know to suppress his headache and make him comfortable. From there, we talked until he fell asleep. I suppose I fell asleep as well" she explained honestly. Hiashi nodded and considered the information being presented him.

"As fine a reason as any to be late, I suppose. I still would have preferred at least a warning that you may be gone for the night, especially with your current punishment" he said. Hinata sighed.

"I did not know that I would end up nursing him back to something resembling health. I would have told you if I had" she said. Her father stroked his chin.

"What did the two of you discuss?" he asked. The Hyuga girl immediately reddened at the question, earning a low chuckle from Hiashi.

"I would assume it went quite well from your perspective, if your face is any indication" he said humorously. Hinata gazed down at Naruto's sleeping face and smiled.

"He still doesn't return my affections, but I feel as though the day on which he does is drawing closer. He didn't seem to mind me running my hand through his hair and such. He is quite cute when subdued" she said dreamily. Her father sighed.

'And this is precisely why I dreaded raising girls without you, Hirumi' he thought to himself as an image of his late wife flashed through his mind.

"Control your hormones, Hinata. Although he may be kind enough to allow you to indulge yourself a bit, don't take things any farther than innocent shows of affection. You have enough on your plate already" he warned gently. Hinata rapidly shook her head.

"I have...already had such a discussion with myself. Naruto-kun is much more than a toy to be played with. He deserves to have his boundaries respected and his dignity to be left intact" she assured Hiashi, who gave a nod of approval.

"Good, I'm glad to hear it. Although, I would suggest avoiding the use of that honorific when speaking to any member of the clan when speaking to anybody but myself, Hanabi, and I would assume Neji. The elder members and most of both branches strongly dislike your team placement due to Uzumaki-san's presence, as you probably could have guessed" he said. Hinata furrowed her eyebrows and asked a question that had been circulating in her mind for several months.

"Tell me, why is it that you don't have a problem with Naruto-kun? Even now, when I have made it clear that I wish to be his significant other, you show no ill will or disapproval for him" she asked. Hiashi thought for a moment.

"Because I have great respect for those who have the strength to survive. That boy has been put through the wringer, and yet he refuses to conform. He has become legitimately powerful through hard work and attentive planning. Also, he has managed to break through much of your outer shell. Forgive me if you take offense to this, but prior to the formation of your team, you were quite difficult to be around much of the time" he explained.

Hinata sighed and nodded as she threaded her fingers through Naruto's hair. She then yawned a bit.

"I never got the chance to thank you for this, so now is as good a time as any. I appreciate you tasking him with my protection during our mission in the Land of Waves. As much as it pains me to admit it, I likely would have died had Naruto-kun not stepped into the line of fire for my sake. His supposed death acted as a slap in the face for me. It made me realize that I wasn't invincible. Thank you for letting me learn that lesson, Father" she said gratefully.

Hiashi shook his head and stood up to leave the dwelling, much to his daughter's surprise and subtle relief.

"I played a part, but Uzumaki-san choosing to quite literally die for your sake was something that even I couldn't have predicted. I am indebted to him. In fact, I have an idea as to how I plan on repaying him" he said. Hinata raised an eyebrow.

"And what is this idea, exactly?" she asked skeptically. The Hyuga clan head gestured to the apartment around them.

"Keep this quiet, but I plan on paying his rent. He likely makes just enough money to pay it himself, but I question how much he has left over to buy food each month. My funds are vast enough to do this without consequence, so I see no reason to not aid him financially" he said as he opened the door and took a step out into the hallway.

"Thank you, Father. I'll see to it that he doesn't find out. Given that you seem to be leaving, does this mean that you are allowing me to stay here for the night?" she asked carefully. Hiashi glanced back over his shoulder and shrugged.

"As long as you don't do anything unbecoming, I'm willing to let this slide. Even if the elder members learn of this, I doubt they will be difficult to convince of a cover story" he said as he fully entered the hall and closed the door. After he had been gone for several moments, Hinata sighed and gazed at Naruto.

'Why must you always sleep with your mouth open, Naruto-kun? The perfect entrance for a tongue, if you ask me' she thought to herself. The moment the thought crossed her mind, the heiress shook her head and scowled at her own perversion.

'And I told him to keep _his_ mind out of the gutter. How hypocritical of me' she berated herself. She then leaned back against the back of the couch and closed her eyes.

'The morning is going to be more than a bit awkward. Oh well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it'

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**A/N: Sorry for the super long wait on this one! As I said in the beginning, I just got my wisdom teeth removed, so I wasn't able to update yesterday like I wanted to. Hope you all enjoyed anyways! I also decided to give Hinata's mother a name (Hirumi)**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	28. Glass House

**A/N: I have returned from the medication and inability to write coherently. Should be able to write consistently for the next little while. Also, I'm about to change something about the canon for the sake of this fic. It's an AU, so this shouldn't be too jarring.**

**Time for chapter 28**

**Enjoy!**

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Hiashi shielded his eyes with his forearm as lightning cracked across the dark night's sky. It was nearly three in the morning, which was a testament to how little free time was afforded to the Hyuga clan head, as he had taken his current walk as a means of solitary thinking. With the quickly approaching final round of the Chunin exams, in which Neji would be competing. Despite the relative ease with which the young Hyuga boy was expected to dispose of his initial opponent, the looming threat of Neji facing either Gaara or Naruto after the fact had cost Hiashi many nights of sleep.

'I must hope for Uzumaki-san to fell Gaara. Between the two of them, Neji is much more likely to defeat him than Gaara purely based upon skill sets. Neji would have absolutely no way to close distance against Gaara. Uzumaki-san would be far from easy, but the chance is certainly there' he thought to himself as he scaled the path that led to the Hokage Monument. As he climbed to the plateau that overlooked the village, a stirring sound from above caught his attention. The Hyuga clan head immediately whirled around and looked upwards towards the face of the Fourth Hokage, which had been carved into the rocky mountainside.

Standing atop the stoney face was Naruto, who wore nothing but a pair of training shorts and a tattered shirt. From the looks of the limited clothing, they had been damaged in action. The blonde silently stared down at the Hyuga clan head from his perch for several moments before calling out to him.

"Imagine meeting you here. Not a common tourist destination usually. What brings you here, Hyuga-sama?" he asked. Hiashi activated his Byakugan to better view the Jinchuuriki and straightened his posture despite the heavy downpour of rain.

"Much the same as you, I would assume. Sleep is easily interrupted, and is often impossible to recapture once lost. I'm walking myself to exhaustion" he explained as he assessed Naruto carefully. Naruto nodded.

"I get what you mean. Sleeping is a hell of a lot harder than it should be. I decided to get in some late-night drilling while I was at it. Only two weeks until the finals, so I need all the practice I can get" he said. The Hyuga clan head raised an eyebrow and gestured to the boy's ravaged outfit.

"Did this drilling result in the destruction of your clothing?" he asked curiously. The Jinchuuriki glanced down at his body and laughed a bit at the question.

"Yeah, I guess it did. I might have gotten a little carried away with some of it. Oh well, I have at least two more shirts and maybe another pair of shorts. No big deal" he replied as he picked at his torn-beyond-repair shirt. Hiashi felt a pang of sympathy at Naruto's unknowing allusion to his own poverty. The blonde then proceeded to tear off the remainder of his shirt and toss it aside, leaving nothing to cover his tattooed abdomen.

"Maybe this is littering, but I don't think I'll be needed that anymore" he said as he stretched and wiped rainwater from his eyes. Hiashi sighed and shook his head.

"You could have simply brought it to a seamstress, you know. That was a waste of a perfectly good shirt" he said tiredly. Naruto gave him a hard look.

"Do you really think I could just walk into a sewing shop and ask for a service?" he asked rhetorically. The Hyuga clan head winced at his own ignorance and scratched the back of his head.

"I suppose you're right. Wrong though it may be, this village's bias against you would make such simple matters quite complicated. If you'd like, I could arrange for some of the Hyuga's cloth-workers to fix your clothing when needed" he offered as a patching to his insensitive remark. The Jinchuuriki smiled.

"That'd be nice. Thanks for that, Hyuga-sama" he said as he stared down at his far-off companion. Hiashi returned the stare as lightning illuminated the night once more, allowing for a brief-but-clear view of Naruto.

'An ocean of suppressed indignation and pain lies still in those eyes of yours, Uzumaki-san. Just waiting to be unleashed in a great wave of destructive force' he thought solemnly as the lightning faded away. He then turned his attention to the seal on Naruto's stomach, which was giving off a subtle glow.

"That tattoo of yours is quite exotic. I'm quite proud of it, if I am to be honest. Being it's creator and such" he said, earning a strange look from the Jinchuuriki.

"You mentioned that a while back. You said that your clan was responsible for the seal. I didn't know that you were the one who made it specifically. In a way, you put the fox inside me" he said blankly. Hiashi felt the air begin to tense, but it quickly loosened once more. After several moments of silence, the clan head spoke once more.

"That's one way to put it. The fourth was the one who truly sealed the demon within you, but such a feat would not have been possible without a seal of my invention. If you want an apology, you aren't going to get one from me" he said firmly. Naruto gazed down at him for a second or two before leaping down from his perch, landing directly in front of Hiashi.

"I don't need an apology from you, and I don't deserve one. From what I understand, the village would have been destroyed had the fox not been sealed. I still don't understand why it had to be me, but it makes sense at the end of the day" he said tiredly. The Hyuga clan head looked the boy up and down and shuddered a bit.

'He's the spitting image of his father, truly. A bit shorter, and likely less traditionally handsome, but very similar. Even his chakra feels similar' he thought to himself as Naruto stretched up to his full height a few feet from Hiashi.

"Something tells me that you know a whole lot more about why I was made a Jinchuuriki than you're letting on" the blonde said. The clan head smirked inwardly.

'Catch him in the right mood, and he's just as sharp' he chuckled mentally. Hiashi then shook his head and stepped back.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Either way, you have other things to worry about. Don't distract yourself" he chided. Naruto frowned and began to protest, but stopped.

"What is your opinion of my daughter, Uzumaki-san?" Hiashi asked, smoothly switching topics in the blink of an eye. The blonde stared at him silently for a moment.

"I think she's lying to herself" he replied bluntly. Hiashi raised an eyebrow at the fearless remark and motioned for the Jinchuuriki to elaborate.

"Go on, Uzumaki-san. That wasn't much of an answer. One could even argue that it doesn't fit the parameters of the question I asked you" he said. Naruto looked off into the stormy sky.

"She's trying to convince herself that I'm some sort of martyr for being willing to let her vent a little during our match. She's putting me up on a pedestal. She's completely shifted gears since the preliminary round ended, and I don't entirely buy it as being real. I think it's a coping mechanism for the guilt she feels" he explained. The clan head considered his explanation before responding.

"From the sounds of it, her use of the curse mark bothers you greatly. Understandably so, but it does come as something of a surprise to me. Hinata described you as being quite forgiving" he said. Naruto sighed.

"Of course it bothers me. She tried to kill me. She really wanted to end my life. She also seemed like she was really enjoying beating the hell out of me. I did some research into seals and such, and what I found out is that transformation-based diagrams tend to amplify already-existent personality traits" he said, allowing Hiashi to connect the remaining dots himself.

"I will not deny that Hinata was indeed bitterly jealous of your progress, but I would not characterize her as cruel by any metric. Egotistical, yes, but not sadistic. Jealousy can be twisted into sadism under certain circumstances when faced with the right stimuli. I understand your frustration, believe me, I do, but don't mischaracterize her" the clan head said. The blonde pursed his lips.

"I'm not afraid of much, Hyuga-sama. I've seen terrible things, and I've been told the coldest things you can imagine, but nothing, and I mean _nothing_ has ever made me want to run away and hide as much as the sound of Hinata's voice after she transformed. I felt like a cornered animal. I was stronger than her, and I knew that, but it made no difference. She just kept walking me down, telling me how badly she was going to hurt me and how. It was just so...painful" he said quietly. Hiashi put a hand on his shoulder.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but it wasn't her power or ghastly appearance that shook you. It was the idea that a person whom you consider to be a friend would be so willing to hurt you. Comradery is a precious trust, and she broke it into glass-like pieces. She then carved your skin with those shards and laughed at your expense" he said. The jinchuuriki lowered his eyes to the ground and allowed himself to relax.

"I've never had friends before. Shikamaru seems fine, and I've been getting along okay with Lee, but Hinata is kind of all I have when it comes to real relationships. I don't know if this is how all people are, but maybe having friends isn't for me. I hate being led one way and then tugged in another. I was starting to...really like her. Then she goes and does what she did. Even now, with her being super affectionate, I just don't feel like I believe it" he said in a defeated tone. Hiashi sighed and reached into his pocket, eventually producing a small slip of folded paper.

"Perhaps it isn't right for me to show you this, but if you need proof of her honesty, this should be more than sufficient" he said as he handed to small paper to Naruto. The genin stared at the slip skeptically as he took hold of it.

"What is it, and how would a piece of paper prove anything?" he asked. The Hyuga clan head stepped back and turned around to exit the plateau.

"Hinata has very few hobbies. She spends the vast majority of her time either training or quietly watching you. Whenever she does choose to indulge herself a bit, she either reads, or she _writes_. Poetry if it's the latter" he said as he began to descend the stairs. Naruto silently watched him leave, and once Hiashi's footsteps were no longer audible, he unfolded the slip of paper. Its contents were written in predictably lavish handwriting, but was nonetheless readable.

_Your voice, how sweet it's sound_

_To have saved a wretch like me_

_From a place of no rebound_

_Even after my horrid decree_

_Despite my forked tongue_

_Despite my frigid disposition _

_Your mercy overhung _

_Your selfless scheme came to fruition_

_Words cannot and will not suffice_

_For you were not crass_

_You melted my castle of ice_

_My House of Glass_

Naruto slowly refolded the paper and gently tucked it into his pocket. He then looked out over the village and towards the Hyuga Estate, where Hinata was fast asleep. The blonde shivered as the cold rain poured onto his bear skin.

"You're such a sap, Hinata. A damn good poet, but still a sap. I love you for it, though" he said to no-one in particular. He then began his slow walk home. After reaching his apartment and entering it, Naruto threw on a set of pajamas and flopped down onto his bed, not bothering to cover himself with blankets.

'I'm not sure _why_ you had that poem or where you got it, but I'm glad you gave it to me. Thank you, Hiashi' he thought to himself as his eyelids drew progressively more heavy and difficult to support. After a minute or two, the Jinchuuriki lost consciousness.

Although still not fully mended, a trust had been medicated that night.

* * *

**A/N: Alright, I KNOW that was a super short chapter, but I felt like it would feel really forced to add another scene after that one. Also, I SUCK AT POETRY, so try not to be too hard on me lol**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	29. Fear Tactics

**A/N: I have returned from the depths of IRL problems to continue this story. Don't worry, I'll finish this fic, even if it takes me a little while.**

**Time for chapter 29**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Temari sighed as she leaned back against the trunk of the tall tree she was sitting in. As per her previously established orders, she was watching Shikamaru Nara. The point of the distant stalking was to gather information and establish weaknesses to exploit in combat, but the lazy genin was making her job unbelievably difficult by being as close to an inanimate object as a person could be. The shadow user was currently sleeping in an open field, and had been for nearly thirty minutes.

'Do you exercise _at all_? You haven't done a damn thing since the prelims' the fan wielder grumbled in her mind as boredom and frustration overtook her. After five more monotonous minutes of mundane observation and silent seething, Temari swung her legs over the branch and hopped down to the ground.

"Screw this. I'm just going to go wake him up" she muttered to herself as she dusted off her shirt and rose to her feet. As she stretched her legs and prepared to cross the distance between the tree and the center of the nearby clearing, she heard an audible shift to her left, prompting her to glance in the same direction.

"Why were you in a tree?" Hinata, who had been walking along the path that passed underneath the tree, asked curiously. Temari studied her for a moment, searching her memories for the Hyuga girl's identity, recalling fairly quickly. Not being one to beat around the bush, the sand kunoichi answered honestly,

"I'm here to observe your teammate. I have orders, and I intend to follow them. Although, I'm starting to wonder how worth it this is. He doesn't _do_ anything" she explained. Hinata laughed a bit and looked out into the field, where Shikamaru slept.

"That isn't going to change any time soon. He does his training within his own mind. You'll never be able to siphon information by just watching him. Speaking to him may be difficult as well. He isn't the most sociable person" she said. Temari sighed and shook her head.

"Why'd I have to get paired with him? If it had been that Neji guy or your other teammate, I would at least have something to watch" she complained. The Hyuga girl snorted.

"Count yourself lucky. Both Neji-san and Naruto-kun would tear you limb from limb. Tenten-san is a far cry from both of them" she retorted. The sand kunoichi raised an eyebrow.

"Naruto-_kun_? Gotta say, that's kind of a shocker coming from you. I've been known to be a little harsh with the men I pursue, but what you did was a little much, even for me. What did he do? Kill your cat?" she asked in reference to Hinata's preliminary match with the blonde. The heiress remained silent for a moment.

"Absolutely nothing. He simply was himself. He did what he was supposed to do, and it did him wonders. I made the error of mistaking his progress for my own failure. In the midst of my meltdown, I decided that he deserved to be punished. For what, even I did not entirely know" she said. The fan wielder scowled.

"Let me get this straight. You transformed into the literal incarnation of satan and tried to kill him all because you were jealous? That's it? That's more than a little fucked up" she said in a disgusted tone. Hinata nodded dejectedly.

"Believe me, I know. I've had it drilled into my skull by every single person close to me. Naruto-kun included, albeit a bit more gently. I regret what I did. I really do. I treated my beloved like a rat" she said. Temari pulled out a kunai and began to file her nails.

"I don't like you. You're a pompous brat" she said bluntly. Hinata scrunched up her eyebrows and gave her a questioning look.

"What about what I just was pompous?" she asked skeptically. The sand kunoichi shrugged and eyed the girl.

"Nothing. Your words are nice and rehearsed. It's all so damn eloquent. So well polished. You have that speech on standby for any occasion that the topic is broached. Besides, I don't live under a rock. I've seen you hauling Naruto around, looking happy as can be" she said. The Hyuga girl growled defensively.

"So what if I have a few select things I have in mind as set response? It doesn't change how much guilt I feel" she countered. The fan wielder stabbed her kunai into the tree trunk, causing Hinata to flinch.

"I never said you weren't feeling guilty. What I'm saying is that you're still being selfish. Let me guess, after the preliminary round, you decided that you were going to spend more time with him. You were going to make it up to him. You were going to show him just how much you cared. You're trying to drown your mistake in guilty affection. Have you ever wondered, just for a second or two, whether or not _he_ wants to be around you?" Temari asked. The heiress scowled.

"It isn't even a question. He would have told me as much if he didn't" she said firmly. The sand kunoichi sighed and shook her head tiredly.

"You aren't getting it. Based on the looks he was getting from your own people, he isn't popular. Maybe it's for a good reason, but either way, he clearly doesn't have a big fanclub. Point is, Naruto would never say no. He would never turn you away. Not because you're some angel, but because he has nobody else to turn to, save for your sensei and that moron. Deep down, I think you _know_ that" she said while jamming a finger towards Shikamaru's sleeping form.

"What are you suggesting?" Hinata asked dangerously. Temari began to walk away towards Shikamaru, leaving the heiress alone by the tree. Before she fully entered the clearing, she glanced back over her shoulder.

"That you're taking advantage of his terrible situation. If what Gaara told me has any substance to it at all, then you're in dire need of a reality check" she said as she finally made her way into the clearing. Hinata silently watched her shake and awaken Shikamaru before shaking her head and continuing her trek down the path.

'How many times will I be reprimanded for this? It seems the powers that be have opted to give me an extended punishment'

* * *

Gaara chuckled to himself as he observed a pair of young children. With one week remaining in the preparation period between the preliminary and final rounds of the exam, the Jinchuuriki had little to do beyond silently wander the streets of Konoha and occasionally settle to eat. The children he had been observing for the past five minutes couldn't have been older than eight years of age, and certainly acted as such. Childish remarks were plentiful in their conversations, all of which were prefaced by the female component of the pair crossing into the boy's personal space.

'The girl appears to be a member of the Hyuga clan. Fascinating. I was under the impression that they rarely left their estate' Gaara thought to himself as he watched them. After another few minutes, the girl became aware of his presence. She immediately tensed and tapped her companion on the shoulder to gain point him in Gaara's direction.

'It seems I've been discovered. I wonder, did she sense me, or did she simply catch sight of me?' he thought to himself. The children gawked at him fearfully for a moment before the boy took several shocking steps toward him, much to the dismay of the girl.

'She seems to be aware of who I am. The boy doesn't seem to be entirely informed, but his body language suggests that he can still sense my chakra' the redhead thought to himself. As he was approached, he stood up from the bench he had been sitting on, a smirk slowly spreading across his face.

"Can I help you?" he asked. The young boy stopped his advance roughly ten feet from Gaara and jammed a finger at him.

"No, but you're going to need help. Naruto is going to smash you!" he proclaimed. Gaara stifled a laugh as he gave the boy an unblinking stare.

'Oh, so he _does_ know who I am. He's just too stupid to keep his mouth shut' he thought so himself humorously. The redhead tilted his head to one side and allowed his grin to widen.

"Riddle me this, boy. What if I _do _have help enlisted? What then? Do you still believe that your comrade can strike me down?" he asked. The boy frowned.

"What do you mean? The matches are one-on-one. You can't bring help" he said. Gaara chuckled and took a step forward.

"My case is a bit unusual. You see, the 'help' I speak of is a part of myself" he said as his eyes shifted from blue to gold, prompting the already-petrified child to stumble back and fall to his rear end. Gaara stared down at the boy for several moments, feeding on the fear radiating from him. The Jinchuuriki's aura could be felt throughout the street, as was shown by its sudden emptiness.

"I must say, I'm less than impressed by the people of Konoha. All so cowardly that they would abandon a child out of fear" the redhead said as he took another step forward. Before he could make another move, the girl rushed to her companion's aid and assumed a taijutsu stance.

"Go away. Leave him alone" she hissed, her dojutsu now active and flaring. Gaara laughed out loud at the turn of events.

"Now this is just adorable. Frozen with fear until your dear companion is threatened. A natural, and pathetic instinct. Let's see just how far into the depths you're willing to fall to follow that inclination" he said darkly as sand began to flow from the gourd on his back. The Hyuga girl's eyes widened and her knees buckled as terror overtook her. She turned her back to the Jinchuuriki and latched onto her terrified companion to shield him. The expected onslaught never came.

"Hanabi-sama, Sarutobi-san. Go back to the estate. Right now"

Hanabi slowly opened her eyes and glanced up. Neji had appeared, and was standing between them and Gaara. The Hyuga girl nodded and slowly let go of Konohamaru before helping him to his feet and pulling him along by the hand back towards the Hyuga estate. After they were gone, Gaara spoke.

"I was wondering when you would emerge from the shadows. What were you waiting for, exactly?" he asked. Neji scowled as he assessed the redhead.

"For you to move to harm them, which you did. You disgust me" he spat. Gaara grinned once more and put up his hands in a gesture of faux defensiveness.

"I never planned on hurting them too badly. I was simply drawing you out. Now, if just threatening them a bit hadn't worked, then maybe I would have roughed them up a little" he said coldly. The Hyuga boy growled.

"You would maim a child?" he asked dangerously. The Jinchuuriki shrugged and conjured his sand back into its gourd.

"Not without reason, no" he said. Neji felt his blood boil at the heartless implications of Gaara's answer. He then took a step forward.

"Why were you so bent on coaxing me out into the open? What is your motive?" he demanded. The Jinchuuriki shrugged.

"Nothing in particular. Equal parts boredom and curiosity, I suppose. With less than seven days left to prepare, I have little to entertain myself with, and I was also unsure of why you were trailing those children. If I had to guess, you act as the girl's bodyguard" he explained. Neji clenched and unclenched his fists.

"Yes, I do. Both she and her sister. I would suggest that you leave my sight. You and I may end up facing one another in the final round, and I assure you, my ire is something you want nothing to do with" he threatened. The redhead smirked.

"It seems that empty threats are commonplace in your clan. Hinata, who I would assume is that girl's sister, staked a similar claim. It's clear to me that you're less of a pushover than she is, but I would still caution you against running your mouth" he said menacingly. The Hyuga boy felt a bead of sweat trickle down his face as the air became tense and rigid.

"So far, I've only encountered one person in this village who hasn't reacted to my chakra the way you are now. He happens to be my opponent, which is convenient. I fully expect you to bludgeon my elder brother, so once I mash Naruto into a fine paste, you and I will meet. I suggest that you grow accustomed to the chakra of a Jinchuuriki within the week" Gaara said as he walked past Neji, who was admirably still despite his fear.

"Have a fine afternoon" the redhead called mockingly as he disappeared into the now-reforming crowd. Once his presence had vanished completely, Neji released the breath he had been holding.

'Psychopathic, demon-carrying, and terrifyingly intelligent. Uzumaki-san, I fear for your safety'

* * *

Hinata sighed tiredly as she closed the door of Hanabi's room and rubbed her eyes. It was nearly midnight, and both her sister and Konohamaru had required comforting and reassurance to be put to bed at all. Konohamaru had been arranged to stay in the estate that night at Hanabi's request. The heiress glanced down the hall and spotted Naruto, who had willingly ceased his nighttime drilling to aid her with the children, leaning against the wall.

"Every day that passes, the more I want to beat Gaara senseless" he said in a tone of barely-suppressed anger. Hinata leaned against the opposite wall and nodded.

"I would be concerned if you weren't feeling a bit angry. His actions are reprehensible. Neji's explanation makes sense, but to target children at all is just disgusting" she said. The blonde ran a hand through his hair.

"Thank god Neji was there to step in. I would have raised hell if either Hanabi or Konohamaru had gotten hurt. He's just doing all of this to goad us. He's just doing it for the hell of it. He's trying to get under mine and Neji's skin" he said. The Hyuga girl chuckled sadly.

"Perhaps this is just my competitive side speaking, but if I had beaten you, Sarutobi-san would not have been dragged into this. Just my family would suffer, and the stress of the situation would be less crippling for you" she said. Naruto shook his head.

"I care about your family, too. You guys have done a lot for me, and I would still be angry if this had nothing to do with Konohamaru. His involvement does add some fuel to that fire, though" he said. The heiress smiled.

"I'm glad you care about us, because we care about you. Especially myself. Our doors are always open" she said warmly. The Jinchuuriki returned the smile.

"I'll keep that in mind. I might have to take you up on that sometime. Unlike my apartment, this place actually has air conditioning" he joked, earning a tired laugh from Hinata. The pair lapsed into silence after the joke. Once roughly thirty seconds had passed, the Hyuga heiress spoke.

"It was brought to my attention today that I may have been...forcing my presence upon you a bit. That I may be taking advantage of your lack of social status. Does any of that resonate with you? Be honest, and don't worry about hurting my feelings" she asked carefully. Naruto thought for a moment.

"I would appreciate some privacy sometimes, I guess. I really do appreciate the amount that you visit me, it makes me happy. Sometimes, though, I just want to be alone with my thoughts. As for you taking advantage of me not having many friends, that isn't really your fault. You can't control how many people want to be around me" he replied. Hinata sighed.

"Okay, I will do my best to give you more space. Would it be okay if I still came to visit you a few times per week?" she asked hopefully. The Jinchuuriki laughed a bit.

"Hey, don't overreact. I never said I wanted you to stop visiting me. Your visits are the highlight of my day, even if that really isn't saying much. Just try to be a little bit less forward on days where I seem to be really tired, okay?" he said. The heiress nodded.

"Yes, absolutely. I can do that" she assured him eagerly. Another spell of silence then cast itself over the hall, but was broken in half the time.

"You're going to be a good father some day, Naruto-kun" Hinata said, earning a look of confusion from the Jinchuuriki.

"What gives you that idea?" he asked skeptically, clearly unconvinced by the sudden statement. The Hyuga girl gestured to her sister's room, where Hanabi, and much to Hinata's disapproval, Konohamaru slept.

"You managed to both calm down and reassure them both with incredible ease. You even managed to convince Hanabi to go to bed, something even I struggle to do" she explained. Naruto shrugged.

"I just told them that they were safe and that I was going to make Gaara pay in blood. After I said that, they were totally fine" he said. The heiress sighed.

"Such morbid wording. At least it did the trick. Either way, thank you for cutting into your training to help me. I really appreciate it, Naruto-kun" she said gratefully. The Jinchuuriki smiled and stretched to begin his walk out of the hallway.

"No need to thank me. This was more important than any training I could have been doing. I also got a free dinner out of you, so I have absolutely nothing to complain about" he said. Hinata reddened a bit at the compliment to her culinary skill. She watched him slowly walk down the hall for a moment before calling out to him.

"Would you like to be walked home?" she asked. Naruto glanced back over his shoulder and shook his head, much to her initial disappointment.

"I'm not going home. I'm going to help your guards keep watch. If Gaara comes back, which I doubt he will, your guards aren't going to be able to handle him. Maybe I'm worrying too much, but I'd like to be sure. And before you ask, I don't want you to help. Get some sleep" he said. Hinata sighed and made her way up to him. She then leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

"Be safe, and if you need anything, come and get me" she said. Naruto stared at her blankly before nodding and smiling a bit.

"Will do, now go to bed" he said as he walked away. Once he rounded a corner and disappeared from sight, the heiress folded her hands over her chest.

'Yes, you'll be a fine father, and an even finer husband'

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the longer wait, folks. I had some stuff to take care of. Hope you all enjoyed. Tell me what you thought :)**

**See you next chapter! Read and review!**


	30. Foreboding

**A/N: Well, time for all that wholesomeness to come to an end. It's time for some combat. It's been far too long. **

**Chunin Exams, Final Round, Part One**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto took a deep breath as he stared up at the stadium before him. The massive structure would be the shark tank in which the final round would take place. In mere hours, the blonde would be face to face with Gaara of the Sand. The preparatory month had passed incredibly quickly, too quickly for his liking, and the stress of the situation at hand was digging itself deeper into his psyche by the moment.

He glanced at the clock that hung over the entrance of the and swallowed. It was ten-thirty, and the combatants were to be at the entrance at ten forty-five. Arriving early had become a habit for the Jinchuuriki, as being late in any capacity was suicide as a Shinobi.

'I wonder how long it'll be until the others show up. They've gotta get here soon' Naruto wondered to himself. Nearly immediately after the thought had crossed his mind, a voice called out to him.

"It seems we're of similar minds. The early bird gets the worm, as they say" Neji, who had just arrived at the entrance, greeted jovially. The blonde heaved a sigh of relief as he was joined by the Hyuga boy.

"Yeah, I guess. I just don't like being late anymore. I used to be tardy all the time, but I've turned that around. Besides, this isn't something I can afford to risk being late for" he said. Neji nodded and gestured to the large stadium.

"As a young boy, I always dreamed of competing on this stage. I suppose that dream is about to come true. Although, my opponent doesn't seem to be overly interesting" he said. The Jinchuuriki chuckled.

"Can't say the same for myself. My opponent's a little too interesting, honestly" he said jokingly. The Hyuga boy shuddered as Gaara's face flashed through his mind.

"I would have to agree with you on that front. He is excessively dangerous, and I have a feeling that we haven't seen the full extent of his capabilities. His chakra is absolutely petrifying" he said. Naruto shook his head.

"Lee pushed him to the edge of his limits. The limits of his normal state, at least" he said vaguely. Neji raised an eyebrow and motioned for him to elaborate.

"If he's anything like me, which he definitely is, then he has an entire reserve of chakra that he didn't use against Lee. We Jinchuuriki, or at least he and I, are capable of tapping into our demon's chakra supply. I have to think myself into a fit of anger to do it, but he seems like the type of guy who can just use it whenever and however he wants" the blonde explained. The Hyuga boy's eyes widened.

"Are you suggesting that he held back during his battle with Lee?" he asked, disbelief permeating his voice. Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, he did. He was still a hell of a lot weaker than Lee, but he knew that all he needed to do was survive. He didn't need to try any harder than he did. He let Lee exhaust himself, and then he finished him. Smart tactics, really" he said. Neji pursed his lips and wrung his hands.

"He played Lee like a fiddle. He still did appear to be uncomfortable with the notion of being damaged, but he appeared to heal almost instantly once the battle was over. What a difficult puzzle to solve" he said. The Jinchuuriki stretched and looked back to the clock, which now read ten-forty.

"He isn't invincible, though. Lee may have been well on his way to losing from moment one, but he did expose a few weaknesses. Gaara is pretty slow, and he isn't a good striker at all. He's durable, but he's shakable. I can work with all of that" he said confidently. Neji raised an eyebrow.

"Do you believe that you will come away victorious?" he asked curiously. The Jinchuuriki shrugged his shoulders and cracked his neck.

"I'm stronger than Lee is, Neji. He may have had more raw power, but I'm a more complicated riddle to crack. I think you'll be surprised" he said firmly before making his way into the arena building. The Hyuga boy smiled and glanced back over his shoulder, spotting the remaining finalists.

'Such confidence. I suppose self-belief is key in his situation. He's up against a monster' he thought to himself as he briefly locked eyes with the oncoming Gaara, who looked stoically amused. Neji then turned and followed Naruto's example by entering the stadium building. Once inside, he was directed to the left down a fairly long hallway, at the end of which was a door that he was ordered to enter.

He was soon followed by Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, and Shikamaru, who all walked the same hall and entered the same room, where Naruto and Neji were now situated. Along with the genin came Genma, who cleared his throat to gain their attention once they were all situated in the room.

"Alright, I hope that you've all prepared yourselves well, because from the point onward, you aren't allowed to leave the stadium. You're locked in. We're going to run through the rules, and then the participants of the first match will begin preparation" he explained, earning a collective nod from the group.

"First and foremost, you will be expected to fight until one or both of you either gives up or cannot continue. Murder is permitted, although not encouraged. Second, outside help of any kind, save for ninken, is not allowed. You will be instantly disqualified if you break this rule in any way. Finally, as implied by the first rule, there is no time limit, and there are no breaks. Much of the month you were given should have been focused on your conditioning, because unless you trust your ability to end things quickly, you're likely in for a long fight" the proctor continued. A murmur reverberated through the small group of genin, but quickly died out.

Genma waited for their attention to fully return to himself before speaking out once more to reveal the first match that would be hosted.

"The first match will be between Neji Hyuga and Kankuro of the Desert. You have one hour to warm up, drink, and eat" he announced. The Hyuga boy and his puppet-wielding opponent then promptly exited the room to do the things that had been listed by the proctor. Once they were gone, Genma continued speaking.

"The second match will be between Shikamaru Nara and Temari of the Desert. You'll be fighting at least an hour from now. How much longer entirely depends on how quickly the first match concludes. You can both take the same leave Kankuro and Neji just did, if you'd like" he said. The shadow and sand kunoichi were out of the room before the sentence had even left Genma's mouth, leaving only the proctor and two Jinchuuriki.

"Given that the two of you are the last people in here, it goes without saying that your match is going to be last. I'm well aware of what the two of you are. You're capable of more destruction than most experienced chunin, and I would like to formally request that you keep things as tame as you can" Genma said. Naruto opened his mouth to agree, but was cut off by Gaara.

"I'm afraid that neither he nor I can agree to such a condition. Combat between Jinchuuriki is entirely uncontrollable. Even if it wasn't, it would eventually become chaotic. While we're on the topic, how did you know that I carry a demon? Have I really been that obvious?" the redhead asked humorously. The proctor narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, you have. By your own design, if I had to guess. Quite the showman, aren't you?" he said. Gaara grinned and turned to leave the room.

"I prefer the term...executant" he said as he exited into the hall. Naruto shuddered as the redhead's presence faded away into the distance. He then looked to Genma, who was still wearing a scowl.

"I have a sinking feeling that there's a hell of a lot more on the line here than just the title of Chunin" the proctor muttered to himself. He then turned his attention to the blonde.

"I'm not supposed to play favorites, but I'd really appreciate it if you beat him" he said. Naruto nodded and took steps to exit the room as well.

"I was already planning on it"

* * *

Hinata fidgeted a bit as she waited for the first match of the final round to begin. Said match was scheduled to begin in five minutes time, and it would be between Neji and Kankuro, the brother of Gaara. The heiress was situated beside her father and sister, who were both quietly tapping a foot on the ground impatiently, a common habit amongst the main house of the Hyuga clan. They had been sitting in silence for nearly ten minutes, all three of them occupied with their own concerns and thoughts, though all of their cognitive energy was directed towards the same topic.

"What is your assessment of this match, father?" Hanabi asked, abruptly ending the period of quiet. The clan head stroked his chin for a moment, but soon smiled and allowed himself to relax.

"Neji should completely and utterly dominate this match. From what I've been able to gather about his foe, he utilizes chakra threads to control puppets. A fine strategy against most ninja, but as the both of you know, our clan is well-suited to shutting such a tactic down quickly" he said confidently. Hinata nodded.

"If that's the extent of the threat from this Kankuro, then Neji-san likely ends this within three minutes. Two if he's feeling irritable" she said. After another minute of waiting, the Hyuga were joined by Naruto.

"I figured you would be warming up" Hiashi commented as the blonde sat down beside Hinata. Naruto shook his head and stared down into the arena.

"I'm as warmed up as I'm going to be. Besides, if I need to warm up in the interim, there's still an hour and a half at least until I fight" he replied. The clan head nodded in agreement and sipped water from his canister.

"What are your thoughts on Gaara as an opponent?" he asked suddenly. The Jinchuuriki thought for a moment before answering.

"I think there are specific ranges I have to avoid at all costs, and others where I can have a field day. The fight will be a blowout either way. He can't compete with me up close, and I probably can't survive for too long at a distance. It'll probably be long, too" he explained. Hiashi chuckled.

"You've given this quite a bit of thought, haven't you?" he asked. Naruto gave him a thumbs up and looked to the Hyuga family.

"Yeah, I have. And before I go out and get myself maimed for sport, I'd like to thank you guys. You've all been really helpful, and I don't think I'd be where I am now if it weren't for the Hyuga. Especially you three" he said gratefully. Hanabi frowned.

"What have I done for you? I don't even know you" she asked skeptically, earning a laugh from the Jinchuuriki.

"I appreciate you liking Konohamaru the way you do, weird as that sounds. You're good for him, and even if he refuses to say it out loud, he likes the attention you give him. Although, you could be a little less aggressive sometimes" he replied. The young Hyuga smirked and shook her head.

"Never. I will not allow such a _fine_ young man to slip through my fingers under any circumstances" she said, causing Naruto and her family to shudder.

"Back on topic, you have no reason to thank us, Uzumaki-san. Your saving of Hinata in the Land of Waves has left me indebted to you indefinitely. Now, enough gratitude. The table is being set for the first match" Hiashi said, smoothly changing the topic. The group collectively turned their attention to the arena, where Neji now stood. After a moment, Kankuro entered the arena as well.

Genma, who had been standing in the arena the entire time, gestured for silence from the crowd, signifying that the match would begin momentarily. The proctor then motioned for both Neji and Kankuro to come to the center of the arena, an order that both genin followed.

"How theatric. A gentleman's staredown" Hiashi joked as the boys were given a brief reminder of the rules. The genin then took several steps back and assumed their respective stances. Hinata sighed and rested her chin in her hands.

"If what you've told me is true, father, then the only Neji-san comes out of this looking impressive is if he ends it quickly" she said tiredly. Hiashi shrugged.

"An extended domination has its own visual appeal. An extended display of skill is quite enjoyable to the experienced eye" he replied. The heiress opened her mouth to respond, but shut it again when Neji and Kankuro engaged. The first clash of the battle was indicative of the remainder of the match.

Neji snapped Kankuro's head back with a sharp punch, pivoted around his return-fire, and kicked out his legs. The puppeteer scurried away and reached to unravel the bandages covering the puppet on his back, prompting the Hyuga boy to charge forward to stop him. Luckily for Kankuro, he was able to unleash his puppet to shield himself just in time to deflect the palm strike heading his way. The strike put a sizable crack in the wooden puppet, but was unable to break through it completely.

The sand shinobi then yanked on one of the chakra threads he had attached to the puppet and stepped back. The manipulation of the chakra thread prompted the puppet to swing a bladed arm at Neji, who easily leaned back and away from the strike, evading it completely. The Hyuga boy then leapt back and settled into his stance, seemingly waiting for something specific.

"Dominant first exchange for Neji. He's reading him like a book" Naruto said. Hinata nodded in agreement and smirked as her cousin effortlessly launched Kankuro's puppet into a concrete wall, breaking off one of its limbs in the process.

"He's already severed the chakra threads. This fight is over '' she said confidently. Thirty seconds later, her prediction came to pass when Neji slammed his palm into Kankuro's stomach. The puppeteer coughed painfully and fell to his knees. The Hyuga boy opted not to follow up his strike. Instead, he turned his back to his foe and began his stroll towards the stairs that lead into the arena.

"A walk-off. That takes some real gusto" Naruto said through a laugh as Genma waved his arms over Kankuro, who had still not risen. After a moment, the proctor looked up to the crowd.

"Kankuro is unable to continue! The winner is Neji Hyuga!" he announced, eliciting a roar of approval from the villagers in attendance. Hanabi jumped up from her seat and thrust a fist in the air.

"Hell yeah!" she yelled. Hiashi gave her a stern glare and motioned for her to sit down once again. Hinata glanced down at her pocket watch and then showed it to Naruto.

"One minute thirty-two seconds. Less than two minutes. Not quite as quick as his alleged seventeen second destruction of Kiba Inuzuka, but still quite impressive" she said. The Jinchuuriki nodded in agreement and turned around to greet Neji, who had made his way up the stairs and into the seating area.

"Not bad at all. That was a whipping" he said as his comrade sat down in a nearby seat. The Hyuga boy cracked his neck and smirked.

"That was a little too quick, honestly. I didn't even get to work the stiffness out of my neck" he said as Kankuro was carried from the arena. Hiashi gave Neji a nod of approval.

"Excellent work. Concise and efficient" he complimented. Neji bowed as best he could from his seated position.

"All in a day's work, Hiashi-sama" he said politely. A ten minute intermission was then announced by Genma, allowing the observers of the final round to socialize and buy concessions.

"Nara-san is set to fight next, is he not?" Hinata asked after the announcement. Naruto nodded and pursed his lips.

"Yeah, he is. His fight probably won't be anywhere near as easy as Neji's was. The girl he's up against is stronger than Kankuro. I think he'll win it, but it probably won't be pretty or clean" he said. The heiress sighed.

"If only he were more assertive. He would be legitimately intimidating as a combatant" she said as Hanabi dragged Hiashi away to buy food. Naruto then gazed across the arena to the opposite seating area. After combing over much of the distant crowd, he locked eyes with a metaphorical demon. As he stared into Gaara's eyes, he found nothing but morbid amusement. The blonde shuddered and took a deep breath.

'If anybody is watching over this world…' he thought as his fellow Jinchuuriki silently fed on his obvious discomfort.

'...deliver me from evil'

* * *

**A/N: Neji would absolutely nuke Kankuro, so I felt like making that one short was a good call. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	31. A Quiet Warning

**A/N: Alright, time for the next fight. Just to warn you, this one is going to be VERY different from canon. Why? Neji didn't fight Naruto. You do the math.**

**Chunin Exams, Final Round, Part 2**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"If he wishes to win, he must change his approach. What he's doing now hasn't even come close to working" Hiashi said with a scowl as Shikamaru narrowly avoided being bisected by a gust of serrated wind. Naruto and Hinata both nodded in begrudging agreement as they watched their teammate struggle. For the past ten minutes, the lazy genin had been confounded and kept at a distance by Temari's fan and the various jutsu that she employed with it. Four times he had tried to capture her with his shadow, and four times he had failed.

Despite the variety of his tactics with said shadow, he had not even come remotely close to seizing control of the sand kunoichi. Without a practical way of utilizing his family's jutsu, Shikamaru was left in an unenviable situation. A specialized ninjutsu user stranded at a range at which his technique of proficiency was ineffective, all while being right in range for his opponent's equally specialized techniques.

"I don't see how he wins this. He isn't great at pressuring people, and he isn't overly threatening without Shadow Possession" Naruto said grimly. To the surprise of all three certified ninja, it was Hanabi who replied with a counter argument.

"Actually, he adjusted about two minutes ago. It may not win him the fight, but he's certainly putting himself in position to make this competitive" she corrected confidently. Hiashi raised an eyebrow.

"Elaborate" he challenged. The young Hyuga activated her Byakugan and gestured to the space between Shikamaru and Temari.

"Slowly but surely, he's been inching his way forward. Every time that girl unleashes a blast from her fan, she stops doing much of anything for around four to five seconds before attacking again. She noticed his adjustment immediately, and she's been slowly backing up to mitigate, but she's forgotten one major detail from the looks of it" she explained. Naruto, Hinata, and Hiashi all frowned and stared at the arena for a moment before the answer to the unspoken question dawned on them.

"The wall. He's trying to trap her. It may take awhile, but if he can survive the wind, Temari-san's back will touch the wall eventually" Hinata said, a smile forming on her face as she appreciated her unmotivated comrade's simple-yet-subtle tactics. Naruto gave Hanabi a grin.

"Not bad, kid. You figured it out before us" he complimented. The girl smirked proudly and leaned back in her seat.

"I appreciate the praise, but don't start celebrating. We don't even know if it's going to _work_"

* * *

Shikamaru gritted his teeth and took another five steps forward as Temari regathered her chakra to assault him with the very air he breathed. As expected, the sand kunoichi retreated five steps, all of which were measured to match his exactly so as to maintain an identical distance. As she set her feet to attack again, a smirk spread across her lips, her confidence surging. Shikamaru chuckled to himself.

'Poor girl has no clue what's coming to her. I almost feel bad' he thought as he prepared to evade the inevitable blast of wind as best he could. When it came, he leapt to his right. Despite his maneuver, the left side of his face was cut open underneath his left eye, sending a stream of blood down his cheek and chin. The shadow user grimaced and rose to his feet to continue his meticulous advance towards his foe.

'I can't afford to be more than grazed by her. I can't feel my face at all, and I barely got touched' he lamented as he broke out into a run, his patience finally having reached the end of it's lifespan. Temari scowled and prepared to predictably attack him with her fan.

"I never took you for the suicidal type, but I guess looks can be deceiving!" she yelled as she unleashed another blast of wind to intercept him. As the bladed air approached, Shikamaru took a deep breath and focused his chakra into his legs.

'Here goes nothing' he thought to himself. In a rare feat of athleticism and chakra control, the Nara leapt straight up, barely clearing the storm of wind as it ripped across the battlefield. As he crashed down towards the earth, Shikamaru looked to Temari, who wore a look of surprise. As he came into contact with the ground, the shadow user rolled forward to decrease the intensity of the impact.

Once he was in an upright position again, he sprinted at Temari head-on, prompting her to skitter backwards to maintain space. After no more than ten steps, however, she backed straight into the concrete wall of the stadium. Shikamaru immediately stopped in his tracks and made a hand sign.

"Gotcha" he said with a smirk as his shadow connected to hers. The sand kunoichi clenched her jaw and strained against the jutsu, but found that her efforts were in vain.

"You were walking me back to the wall, weren't you?" she asked through her frustration. Shikamaru nodded and shrugged, causing Temari to do the same.

"Yup. I'm honestly pretty surprised you didn't see it coming, honestly" he replied. The fan wielder sighed and made another attempt to break his control, to no avail.

"I got high on the feeling of slicing you up. You looked and acted like a sitting duck" she said. The shadow user sighed and leaned over.

"Yeah, because I was. I'm just as surprised as you are that this worked" he said before making a throwing motion straight up. Due to the jutsu she was under, Temari followed suit, launching her fan into the air in the process. The metal rectangle spun and arced towards the upper wall, eventually colliding with it and sticking into its side.

"Enough small talk. I have some questions for you, and you're going to answer them" the shadow user said firmly, earning a raised eyebrow from Temari.

"And why should I listen to you? The only thing you have to threaten me with is a concussion if you choose to make me slam my head into the back of the wall, and I wouldn't be able to answer your questions if I was unconscious" she asked skeptically. Shikamaru gave her a bored look and reached into his kunai pouch, quickly producing a blade. When the sand kunoichi made the same motion, she came out empty handed, as their punches were on opposite sides.

"You crafty little brat" Temari hissed as she was forced to approach the shadow user due to his own forward advance. Once they were roughly a foot apart, Shikamaru pressed his kunai to her throat and jammed a thumb towards the Hokage and Kazekage, who were sitting in a high position above the arena.

"Who the hell is that guy you're calling the Kazekage? Something about him is _very_ off, and you're going to explain it to me" he commanded. The sand kunoichi pursed her lips and stared at the lazy genin.

"I don't know any more or less about him than you do" she replied tensely. Shikamaru increased the force with which he was pressing his knife into her skin.

"Really? I thought he was supposed to be your father. That's been the word around the village, anyway" he said. Temari's eyes briefly became flooded with an emotion resembling grief, but it quickly washed away.

"There are things at work here that are beyond you or I. I'm sorry, but I can't say anymore. You can go ahead and kill me if you want" she said shakily. Shikamaru felt his blood run cold.

'An apology, and something similar to submission. Something is very wrong' he thought to himself. He then glared up at the Kazekage.

'I have a strong feeling that I know what's going on here. Whoever you are, you won't be hidden much longer' he mentally promised the Kage. He then turned his attention back to Temari, whose eyes were now downcast as she awaited what she assumed would be her end.

"Wipe that look off your face. It doesn't suit you" Shikamaru said as he released her from his jutsu due to a mix of exhaustion and sympathy. The sand kunoichi's head snapped up as she regained control of her body.

"W-what? Why did you…?" she began as Shikamaru backed away from her and assumed a taijutsu stance. The lazy genin took a deep breath and wiped blood from his wounded cheek.

"I'm an overly sympathetic idiot. That's why. Now shut up and come at me" he replied. Despite the massive number of questions and the whirlwind of emotions circulating her mind, Temari obliged and stepped forward to attack.

What ensued could only be described as a war of wills.

* * *

Naruto, Hinata, Hiashi, and Habai all stared down at the arena with wide eyes and their mouths agape as Temari and Shikamaru traded strikes at a torrid pace. Many different scenarios had been envisioned for the match, but the one occurring had not been one of them.

"I think I'm missing something here. Why didn't he just knock her out or kill her? He had the chance to do both" Naruto questioned as Shikamaru snapped Temari's head back with a punch. Hiashi stroked his chin and winced as another sloppy-but-damaging exchange took place.

"Tactically speaking, without context, this turn makes sense on some level. Temari-san has been separated from her fan, and Nara-san appears to be out of chakra. Neither one of them really have any other areas of strength, leaving them with only their ancillary skill-set to rely on, which happens to be taijutsu for both. But as you said, Uzumaki-san, Nara-san could have finished her twice, and chose not to" the clan head said. Hinata frowned.

"They appeared to exchange words for a few moments before Nara-san let her go. I don't know what was said, but it convinced him to engage her head-to-head" she said. Hanabi tilted her head to one side as she watched the two genin fence in the center of the arena.

"For as sloppy as it all is, Nara-san is employing some interesting tactics" she said as Shikamaru cleaved an elbow into the side of Temari's head, forcing her to back up a step and heave a deep breath.

"Yes, he is. He is greatly uncomfortable gauging distance, and he seems to be aware of it. His solution is to march forward, tie up his opponents hands with his own, like a game of patty cake, if you will, and throw strikes over the top of his foe's outstretched arms. A fascinating tactic, but an effective one" Hiashi said. Naruto nodded in agreement as his teammate pressured forward behind ugly-but-relentless combinations of strikes.

"You've gotta give them both credit. They're pushing a crazy pace" he said. A moment after the sentence had left his mouth, Temari and Shikamaru clashed heads, an action that sent them both reeling back.

"This is a dog fight" Hinata said through a grimace. Apparently, the crowd as a whole agreed with her, as they were cheering loudly for the two warring genin. The heiress then activated her byakugan and gazed into the chakra reserves of her teammate.

'You had better finish this soon, Nara-san. The body always breaks before the mind'

* * *

Shikamaru spat blood out of his mouth as she slowly circled Temari. It had been roughly fifteen minutes since the shadow user had opted to release her from his jutsu, and both genin were now worn and battered. Shikamaru was bleeding profusely from the gash underneath his left eye, and his mouth was leaking blood due to a small split in his bottom lip. Temari was no less visibly injured, with a litany of bruises and cuts covering her face.

"Was it worth it, Shikamaru? Letting me go, I mean. You clearly aren't enjoying this from my vantage point. You could have ended this awhile ago" the fan wielder asked through heavy breaths. Shikamaru sighed and stepped forward to engage her once more.

"I already gave you a hint earlier. I don't really feel like explaining any more than I already have. It'd be troublesome" he said as he threw a right handed punch at Temari's face. The sand kunoichi ducked under the strike and whipped her head back up, slamming the top of her skull into his chin. The impact buckled the lazy genin momentarily, but not enough to prevent him from seizing her by the back of the neck and using the grip to throw her to the ground.

"Why won't you just break already? You told me that you didn't care if you became a chunin or not. Why are you trying so damn hard?" Temari demanded as she tried and failed to rise to her feet after rolling to her hands and knees with Shikamaru latched onto her back. The shadow user responded by snaking an arm underneath her chin and clamping down on her neck.

"Because this isn't about promotions anymore. You know as well as I do that something bigger is coming" he hissed in her ear as he squeezed her airway closed. Temari struggled against the stranglehold, but soon felt her senses begin to dull as the world around her became fuzzy. After another few seconds, she went limp. Shikamaru then released her neck from his grip and gently laid her on her back.

"Call the match, Genma. She's out cold" he called to the proctor, who was making his way over to the unconscious fan wielder. Once he reached her, he gave her a cursory inspection and waved his arms over her body.

"Temari of the Sand is unconscious! Shikamaru Nara is the winner!" he announced, eliciting a roar of approval from the crowd. The shadow user then began his unsteady walk back towards the stairs, exhaustion and pain slowing his pace to metaphorical crawl. His walking speed was decreased even further once he began to climb the stairs, a task that would likely take him several minutes to complete. Luckily, halfway up the flight, Kakashi stood waiting.

"That was ugly as hell, but you gutted it out. I'm genuinely impressed. I didn't know you had that kind of grit" the jonin said as he slung Shikamaru's arm over his shoulder to help him up the stairs. The shadow user rubbed the side of his head and sighed.

"I made that harder than it needed to be" he said vaguely. Despite the lack of clarity, Kakashi instantly understood what he was referencing.

"Would you mind explaining to me why you let her go? You were low on chakra, but you weren't running on empty when you released her. You two also seemed to have a conversation before the brawl ensued. What was said?" he asked. Shikamaru immediately tensed a bit, but quickly relaxed and organized his thoughts.

"Something awful is about to happen. Chaos is about to wash over this village. I'm sure you've noticed it by now, but the Kazekage isn't as he seems. Something about him is wrong. I don't know what it is, but I know that I'm not imagining this. All of that contributed to why I let Temari go when I could have killed her or knocked her out. I didn't kill her because I was feeling sympathetic. I gave her a fighting chance on a whim. I gambled on the notion that I could beat her in a taijutsu match" he explained. His teacher gave him a nod.

"Yes, I've been getting the same feeling from the moment the finals began. Something is afoot. As for your reasoning for dragging the match out, I understand why you did it, but you can't let your personal feelings interfere. You still won, so it doesn't exactly matter in this case, but don't let sympathy cloud your judgement in the future" Kakashi said firmly. The pair then reached the top of the stairs, where Shikamaru posed a question.

"Do you think Hokage-sama is aware of the disturbance?" he asked. The silver haired ninja nodded confidently and glanced to the other side of the arena, where Hiruzen sat alongside the 'Kazekage'.

"If you and I have caught on, then so has he. The better question is what he plans to do about it"

* * *

**A/N: I changed the fight fairly drastically, but you also have to consider that Naruto never put a hole in the ground in this fic, so Shikamaru's strategy wouldn't have worked. I also changed the "I give up" scene into something a tad different. **

**Hope you all enjoyed it!**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	32. Tense Beginnings

**A/N: Time for the beginning of the big one. Just so you know, Gaara vs Naruto is going to be dialogue heavy.**

**Chunin Exams, FInal Round, Part 3**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Temari groaned and rubbed her head as she sat up in bed. Her head was pounding, her ribs were sore, and the cuts on her face burned. Slowly but surely, the memories of where and how she had been injured came trickling back into her mind, with each memory serving to fuel the fire of her frustration. Once she had recalled the entirety of the match, Temari curled her hands into fists and clamped them tightly. The sheer force with which she squeezed caused her nails to cut into her palms, drawing blood in the process.

'First, you outsmart me with a half-baked, almost suicidal strategy, then you spare me for god knows what reason, and then you strangle me into unconsciousness in front of a huge crowd. If just one of those things had happened, I'd be able to let this go, but all three? You're going to wish you were never born, Shikamaru' she silently swore to both herself and the shadow user. Despite her indignation at the result of the match and the events that transpired within it, one key aspect stuck in her mind.

'How did you figure it out? What gave it all away? There's no way you've met the Kazekage, he just got here. The only time you possibly could have even _seen_ him was during the formal speech the Hokage gave, and none of the competitors were in the crowd at that point. Then again, I didn't see you warming up anywhere, so maybe you were' she wondered to herself. As she pondered the situation at hand, a knock came at her door.

"Come in" she called. The door was then slowly opened, revealing Kankuro. The puppeteer made his way into the room and closed the door behind him.

"Looks like we both got our asses handed to us" he said humorlessly. Temari prickled at his words and scoffed at her brother.

"Unlike you, I put up a fight, and may have been winning up to the point that I was finished. You got flattened" she retorted. Kankuro sighed and sat down in a chair in the corner of the room.

"Yeah, but the guy I fought was stronger than both you and the guy you were fighting put together. Neji, or whatever his name is, is probably the third strongest person participating in the finals" he countered tiredly. The fan wielder opened her mouth to argue, but shut it again.

"Good point. If he weren't competing against two Jinchuuriki, he'd likely be favored to win this whole thing. Not that this little tournament matters at all. It won't reach a conclusion" she said after a moment. Her brother nodded in agreement.

"Before you ask, you're still in the stadium. They have an infirmary built into this place. Gaara is set to fight in about ten minutes" he said. The sand kunoichi sighed and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

"I'm almost disappointed that I'm in good enough condition to watch. Gaara's fights are a little much, even for me" she said as she carefully stood to her feet and tested her balance. Kankuro then reached into his pocket and produced a small pill.

"Take this. You'll need to be fresh for the chaos" he said as he tossed the pill to his sister. Temari caught the item and studied it.

"A food pill? Where did you even get this?" she asked skeptically. Kankuro shrugged and stepped out into the hallway.

"Doesn't matter. Now eat it. I already took mine after getting my stomach mended by the medics. They probably won't get to you in time, so take that and get ready" he said as he walked away. Temari scowled down at the food pill, strongly disliking the idea of being artificially replenished, but eventually relented and popped it in her mouth. The moment she swallowed it, the sand kunoichi could feel her reserves restore themselves and her pains numb.

"Man, I don't know what those things are made of, but they work like a charm" she muttered as she glanced at herself in the small mirror hanging on the wall of her room.

'He really busted me up. Eh, oh well. I look better with a bit of blood on my face anyways' she thought to herself as she prepared to make her way back to the seating area. She then exited the room and began making her way down the hall.

'This is going to be a long day'

* * *

Naruto took a deep breath to calm his nerves as he paced in front of the staircase that would lead him down into the arena. Five minutes remained before his encounter with Gaara, and the pressure of the situation at hand was beginning to wear on the blonde. As he struggled to leash his fear, Hinata, who had opted to follow him upon his departure from the seating area, gazed at him sympathetically.

"You need to calm yourself. Tenseness will do you no good" she gently chided. Naruto glanced over his shoulder at her and nodded.

"Yeah, I know. The guy feeds on fear. It fuels him. I just...can't shake this awful feeling I have. Like something is going to go horribly wrong. I'm well prepared, I have his habits memorized and tactics ready to exploit them, but I can't calm down. I'm terrified" he said as he tried to steady his shaking hands. The heiress sighed and made her way in front of him, taking hold of his tremorous hands with her own.

"Why are you afraid, Naruto-kun? I know that the opinion of the crowd means nothing to you, and that feeling of stress is natural. What has you so terrified?" she asked softly. The Jinchuuriki lowered his eyes to the floor.

"Because, for the first time, I'm not sure I can win. I knew in the back of my mind that I could kill Haku if he pushed me far enough, and I knew that I was strong enough to stop you when we fought. Gaara mauled Sasuke, survived the eight gates, and was about to kill Lee. He was holding back against both of them, too. He also has a tailed beast, meaning that he can probably match pace with me too" he said nervously. Hinata squeezed his hands and smiled.

"As both your harshest critic and most passionate supporter, I want you to know that I have absolute confidence in you. You've risen from the dead, saved me from my own arrogance, and stood guard at the gates of my home like the steadfast guardian you are. If you can't bring that monster to his knees, then nobody can. Now go and make me proud" she said strongly, releasing his hands and gently directing him towards the stairs. The Jinchuuriki followed her instructions and began to descend the steps.

After four steps, he looked back up at her and smiled. What he said next both greatly flattered and shocked Hinata simultaneously.

"You're a great poet, you know that?"

* * *

Naruto whistled as he made his way across the arena towards the center. Despite having been within it no less than ten minutes previously, the sheer size of the crowd that had arrived to watch the final round was a shock to the blonde. The excitable genin quickly shook himself of the awe and returned his gaze to the path in front of him. Awaiting him in the center of the arena was Genma, and Gaara was approaching from the opposite side of the arena. The two Jinchuuriki reached the proctor at the same time, both stopping roughly five feet from one another.

Gaara wore a look of complete and total calm, with a subtle hint of cruel amusement highlighting his pale features. Genma eyed them both momentarily before clearing his throat.

"Alright, boys. You know exactly what I expect. You are to fight until one of you is unable to continue, to the death if necessary. No outside help of any kind is permitted. Am I understood?" he asked. Both Gaara and Naruto nodded, neither one of them breaking eye contact with the other.

"In that case, take ten steps back" the proctor ordered, a command that was quickly followed by the genin. Once they had created the appropriate amount of distance between one another, Genma raised a hand over his head.

"You may begin" he announced as he dropped his hand back towards the ground symbolically. The moment the metaphorical greenlight was given, Gaara was surrounded by a haze of shimmering sand that absorbed the impact of Naruto's oncoming fist. The force of the strike sent a shockwave through the cloud of sand, but the floating mass did not budge.

"Like a house on fire. Just as advertised" the redhead said as his sand closed around Naruto's arm. The blonde growled and yanked his arm back freeing half of his trapped arm. Gaara then made a clamping motion with his hand. The sand enveloping Naruto's right wrist then crushed down on the limb, eliciting a grunt of pain from the genin.

"It seems your bones are a bit harder to break than Lee's. Not surprising, or unwelcome for that matter. That means I can drag this out" Gaara said darkly. He then flung Naruto backwards with the tendril of sand, sending the blonde tumbling to the ground roughly thirty feet away. Naruto jumped to his feet and blitzed forward again. Just as he was about to come into contact with his fellow Jinchuuriki's wall of sand, he veered off to his left, narrowly evading the carnivorous sediment,

Due to his change in trajectory, the sand was forced adjustment as well. This forced adjustment left an apparent opening to Gaara's right, an opening that Naruto immediately attempted to exploit. As he extended his arm to strike the redhead, he spotted a wry smirk on his face. Just as the punch was about to touch Gaara's face, a row of earthen spikes shot up from the ground, knocking the blonde's arm off course and slicing open the right side of his face. As his punch missed, Naruto regained his footing and pivoted around the sandy serrations. Once he was momentarily out of danger, he leapt backwards and landed on his feet exactly where he had launched himself from to begin his assault.

'He laid some of his sand on the ground around his feet. It blends in perfectly, and he can use it as a second line of defense. I almost feel like he let me get close to him' he thought to himself as blood dripped down his face. The blonde focused his vision and observed the defensive shell Gaara had built for himself closely.

'A layer of fast-moving dust that can both block strikes and condense itself into a solid limb, and a row of rock-solid sand spikes that can cut skin. There's a good chance he has another layer beyond that. I can get around the first layer, and the second shouldn't be that hard to figure out. My worry is that it'll require me to be close to him for longer than I can afford' he pondered. Gaara, who had been watching him think, then spoke up.

"Come on, attack me once more. We don't have all day, despite what you may have been told" he jeered. The blonde scowled at his statement and assumed a taijutsu stance.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" he demanded as he charged forward again. The redhead shrugged and grinned with amusement as Naruto weaved his way around the storm of sand, only to be repelled by the spikes once more.

"I figured you'd have noticed by now. Your teammate, Shikamaru, figured it out quite some time ago" he said vaguely as he was shielded from another barrage from Naruto. The excitable genin then came within inches of connecting flush with a right-handed punch after adjusting his timing and trajectory to nearly evade the spikes, which still managed to stop the strike before it could find its target.

"Quit talking and do something already! I'm sick of just attacking you!" Naruto yelled as he yanked his arm out from between the spikes. Gaara chuckled and tapped his foot on the ground. A small tendril of sand then flew out and seized Naruto by the ankle, tripping him to the ground as he attempted to exit Gaara's metaphorical stronghold of sandy defenses.

"It isn't my fault that you can't seem to touch me, but if you insist that I stretch my legs a bit...don't say I didn't warn you" the redhead said menacingly. He then lifted Naruto high into the air by his ankle and whipped him hard at the stoney wall of the arena.

The blonde smashed into the wall with a sickening 'thud', causing the stone to crack a bit. Naruto slowly slid down the wall until his rear end touched the ground again. Naruto growled and struggled to his feet, coughing up a bit of blood on his way up.

'I can't play my trump cards yet. He'd definitely survive either one, and he would find a way around them given a few minutes to observe. So, in that case…' he thought to himself as he gave Gaara a hard, assessing stare. Naruto then turned a palm towards the sky and smirked.

"Rasengan"

* * *

The Hyuga family all stared down at the arena with wide, active byakugan as they marvelled at the sphere of spiralling chakra sitting in Naruto's palm. Hiashi in particular wore a look of absolute shock as he watched Naruto break into a run towards Gaara with the sphere outstretched in front of him.

"I knew he was talented, but the Rasengan? Even I couldn't have predicted this" he said with a shake of his head. Before either of his daughters could respond, Naruto's jutsu ripped through Gaara's first line of defense, and then his second. A moment later, the redhead was launched backwards by the Rasengan. As he flew back, his sand rushed to his aid and caught him before he could slam into the wall.

"He finally hit him!" Hanabi cheered as Naruto rushed forward to capitalize on his first moment of legitimate success. The young Hyuga's celebration was quickly cut short as Naruto was repelled by a wave of sand. By the time the blonde had regained his footing, Gaara had made it to his feet and was dusting himself off, the only visible injury on his body being a burn mark on his left arm, which he had used to block the chakra sphere. The Jinchuuriki then began to circle one another.

"What unbelievable tension" Hinata breathed as her teammate engaged in a silent-but-intense staring contest with Gaara. Hiashi pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes.

"Gaara's durability is nonsensical. That jutsu should have at least damaged him moderately, and yet there he stands, completely unfazed. I forget from time to time just how terrifying Jinchuuriki truly are" he said. The heiress nodded in agreement despite disliking the idea of Naruto being referred to as 'terrifying'.

"I have a strong feeling that things are about to become perilous for both of them" she said nervously.

The heiress' comment would end up being quite prescient, as the sequence they had just witnessed was tame compared to what was to come.

* * *

**A/N: That was a fun one to write. I like writing fight scenes, although Gaara is a bit tough due to his strange abilities. Hope you all enjoyed regardless! Tell me what you thought of the chapter!**

**Read and Review!**


	33. Cruel Revelations

**A/N: This fic has a lot of reviews, so maybe I have no right to ask, but could a few more of you leave some reviews? It really helps me fix my mistakes and gives me future references. It would be nice :)**

**Chunin Exams, Final Round, Part 4**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto clenched and unclenched his fists as he stared into Gaara's cold, remorseless irises. The blonde had tried a variety of creative entries to get through the redhead's defenses, but none of them had even come remotely close to working. Time and time again, Naruto had been repelled by the sand. Often times taking damage in the process.

'He isn't even breathing heavy. He's just waiting for me to attack him again. He doesn't need to lead. It's not like he couldn't do it. He slammed me into the wall the one time he got impatient' he thought to himself frustratedly. The more and more he weighed his options, the clearer it became that his current approach was never going to work to any extent whatsoever.

'I have to try it. It'll guarantee me one huge shot, but it probably won't get me much more success than that' he thought to himself before crossing his arms in front of himself and breathing deeply. Gaara raised an eyebrow as Naruto smirked and threw his arms back, sending a shockwave in all directions around him.

"First gate: Gate of Opening!" he yelled, vanishing from sight a moment later. Before Gaara could react, Naruto reappeared in front of him, completely bypassing the redhead's sand. Gaara's eyes widened as a gust of wind caught up with Naruto.

"Let's play by my rules now, why don't we?" the blonde said before burying his fist in his fellow Jinchuuriki's gut and doubling him over. As Gaara tried to catch his wind, Naruto seized him by the back of his head and slammed a knee into his forehead. The strike opened a large gash, which immediately began to leak blood. As the redhead staggered backwards, Naruto formed another Rasengan in his left hand. He then charged forward to pursue the reeling Jinchuuriki before him. Before his Jutsu could touch Gaara's face, a sand spike emerged from the ground and extended towards Naruto's throat, forcing him to stop dead in his tracks. The point at which he halted his forward momentum left the spike an inch from his throat.

"Much better, Naruto. I expected a valiant effort from you, but I never expected you to actually draw my blood. _How wonderful…_" Gaara said, his voice dripping with sick anticipation. The position the Jinchuuriki were standing in was a perilous one, to say the least. While Gaara's spike had stopped an inch from Naruto's jugular, the blonde's Rasengan was hovering half that distance from Gaara's face.

"Like two swordsman of equal skill and identically murderous intentions, we stand before one another, a hair's breadth away from the bloody, visceral end. What beautiful poetry" the redhead said eloquently, his eyes gleaming with yet-unconquered madness. Before Naruto could respond a metaphorical ocean of sand crashed towards him from all directions, forcing him to leap up into the air and direct himself back to his previous position twenty feet from the unhinged jinchuuriki.

"I must say, the gates are something of a shock on your end. It's clear to me that you aren't anywhere near as skilled with them as Lee, but your ability to use them at all is impressive" Gaara complimented as he marvelled at the blood that was dripping down his nose from the wound on his forehead. The blonde allowed his body to relax and slowly re-closed the gate he had forcibly opened.

"There'll be more where that came from, trust me. Now let's keep going" he said as he stepped in his taijutsu stance. The redhead responded by outstretching his right arm towards Naruto and opening his palm.

"Let me ask you a question. Have you ever found yourself completely unable to move? Frozen in time? Confused and afraid?" he asked darkly as the sand floating around him spread into a shimmering veil. Naruto shuddered at his words. The sand seemed to make a humming sound as it spread throughout the arena.

"Given your silence, I'm going to assume the answer is a resounding 'yes'. Let's add to that collection of memories, shall we?" Gaara said. The redhead then faded from view, becoming indistinguishable from his sand. After a moment, Gaara seemed to reappear in front of Naruto, prompting the blonde to swing a hard punch at the left side of his head. When the strike reached its target, however, it simply passed right through the redhead.

"What…?" he began as the mirage of his foe faded away. Before he could finish his befuddled sentence, a sharp pain erupted in his back. The blonde froze in place as Gaara, who's true physical form had made its way behind him, twisted a kunai into his lower back. A small trail of blood then began to leak from the corner of the excitable genin's mouth.

"I've always thought that Genjutsu is a waste of chakra. It's a pointlessly draining tactic. During my time as a genin, however, I have come to realize how useful visual and auditory diversions are. And so, in line with my philosophy regarding Genjutsu, I made my own illusions. My sand requires no chakra to use under most circumstances, and it bends to my will unconditionally" Gaara said, allowing Naruto to piece together the rest of the vague explanation on his own. The blonde grunted and stumbled forward, dislodging the kunai from his back and allowing him to turn to face Gaara.

"So you use your sand to mess with people" he concluded as he heaved deep breaths. The redhead nodded and gestured to the swirling storm of sand around them.

"Indeed. As you found out the hard way, I'm more than capable of hindering my victim's hearing and vision simultaneously with nothing more than a veil of mobile dust. Your vision was obscured by the sand itself, and the sounds of my leisurely stroll that lead me to your back were concealed by the grinding sound of the storm" he explained as the veil of sand returned to its previous form as a floating mass that surrounded the redhead.

A collective gasp could be heard as the crowd to Naruto's back caught sight of the stab wound. The Konoha genin then clenched his fists and forced his chakra to flare, opening his only accessible gate in the process.

"Let's try this again" he growled before blitzing forward at Gaara once more. As had happened during the blonde's previous rush, he completely bypassed his foe's defenses with little effort. Once he was in range to strike, Naruto forcibly shut the gate he had opened. He then set his feet in front of Gaara and laced him with three hard punches, with the first landing to his solar plexus, the second crashing into his temple, and the third and final connecting square on Gaara's forehead wound.

The flurry sent the redhead staggering backwards, prompting Naruto to charge after him to attack again. The blonde then forced the first gate open again, sending a shockwave from his body and repelling the sand that was pursuing him. A second later, Naruto was in front of Gaara once more.

'What a brilliant tactic' the redhead thought to himself as the left side of his jaw was clattered by a sharp right handed punch from his opponent. The strike buckled his knees and afforded Naruto time to line of his next attack, which ended up being a hard kick to Gaara's chest. The redhead was launched into the arena wall with a 'thud'.

"Without your sand, you're kind of a sitting duck" Naruto said as he tore into Gaara with a furious combination of punches against the wall. Gaara chuckled and shook his head as the blonde struck him repeatedly.

"You really are fascinating. You hit upon an excellent tactic, and then you abandon it mere moments after it nets you your greatest success. You're far too eager" he said vaguely. It took only a split second for Naruto to realize his critical mistake. Unfortunately, it was too late. Tendrils of sand seized Naruto by his ankles and wrists and heaved him off the ground. Gaara then reversed their positions, with Naruto now being pinned to the wall and Gaara standing before him with a variety of ways to inflict damage.

"Using the pulse of the first gate to both cross distance and repel my sand was ingenious, and closing the gate the moment you entered striking distance to better control your own speed was a nice touch. The fact that you stopped doing it tells me that either you can't do it more than a few times without rest, or that you simply forgot. Both possibilities are damning for you" the redhead said as his sand tightened around Naruto's limbs.

"You're still way behind, Gaara. Unlike me, you haven't inflicted any damage" the blonde snapped as he struggled against the sand. Gaara raised an eyebrow and slammed his fist into Naruto's solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him and eliciting a groan of pain.

"These matches aren't being scored, my friend. Me being 'behind' doesn't matter in the end. Besides, I have a litany of options when it comes to hurting you" he said darkly. Naruto then strained even harder against the tendrils, nearly freeing himself before running out of energy.

Gaara frowned at the Konoha genin and flung him back towards the center of the arena with his sand, releasing him from the tendrils as he fell towards the earth. After a nasty landing, Naruto staggered to his feet and coughed up blood.

"Why aren't you tapping into the fox's power, Naruto?" the redhead asked suddenly as he slowly made his way towards the blonde. Naruto clenched his jaw and charged forward, only to be knocked backwards by the sand.

"Do you fear what this massive crowd of people will think of you? Are you afraid of being shunned for your status as a Jinchuuriki even more than you already are?" Gaara asked while forcing Naruto to evade a limb of sand.

"Shut up!" the Konoha genin yelled as he ducked and dodged to stay alive. Gaara's eye twitched irritably as the obvious answer to his question dawned on him.

"The fact that you bend to the wishes of such weaklings disgusts me more than I could ever express: he growled before launching a massive pillar of tightly condensed sand at his foe. The enormous cylinder crashed into the ground, nearly crushing Naruto as it missed by mere feet. The pillar then dissipated into a cloud of sand that returned to Gaara's side. Naruto heaved a deep breath as he rose to his feet and assessed his options.

"I don't care what they think of me. You're wrong. The only people whose opinions I care about already accept me for what I am" he retorted as he assumed a taijutsu stance. Gaara narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to reprimand his fellow Jinchuuriki, but calmed once he hit upon something.

"Even if you're telling me the truth, there is still plenty wrong with your line of thinking. The only people who genuinely don't care about your inner demon are a pompous clan head who simply wishes to weaponize your power, his whore of a daughter, and two small children. Beyond that, Shikamaru and your sensei have no choice but to put up with you. You have nobody of value" he said with a goading sneer. Naruto tensed instantly, particularly needled by one specific part of the cruel remark.

"Watch your mouth. You don't know a damn thing about her" he snapped angrily. Gaara smirked and folded his arms across his chest.

'Hook, line, and sinker' he thought to himself as he glanced up at Hinata, who was watching from the stands alongside her family. The moment the redhead made eye contact with her, the heiress face contorted into unease. Gaara then returned his icy gaze to Naruto.

"You're right. My knowledge regarding Hinata Hyuga is indeed limited. What I _do_ know, however, is quite disturbing" he said. Naruto scowled at the redhead and took a step forward.

"If you're talking about her habit of stalking me, then you're beating a dead horse. I already know about that. It isn't even disturbing either. She does it because she cares" he said confidently. Gaara tilted his head to one side.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked. Naruto stared at him silently for a moment before relenting and motioning for his foe to continue speaking.

"I'll hear what you have to say, but there isn't a thing you can tell me about her that I don't already know" he said.

"Are you aware of the fact that your oh-so-innocent teammate intended to force herself on you in your sleep?" Gaara asked bluntly. His words garnered reaction instantly. Naruto's features immediately hardened at his fellow Jinchuuriki's words. Despite his desire to snap back immediately, he held his tongue. At his silence, Gaara spoke once more.

"I first began to suspect that she could be capable of such a heinous act halfway through her match with you. She had just tapped into the second phase of that marking on her neck, and the entire arena had become a sea of palpable emotion. One emotion in particular stood out to me as I sifted through it all" he began, searching for discernable reactions to his tale, finding few as he looked upon Naruto's stoic face.

"I think you remember the moment. The words she imparted to you as you struggled to your feet" Gaara continued coldly. Naruto finally twitched a bit as the memory Gaara was invoking returned to the forefront of his mind.

_"Feeling tired? Good, just wonderful. I find you to be positively adorable when your face is a mask of blood and bruises. It just feels so...right to watch you break before me" _

"That emotion...was powerful, insatiable lust. The type that doesn't just disappear. It builds, it eats away at a person's self control. When that control finally bends, people tend to do some detestable things. I happened upon her one night outside your apartment complex. The moment her presence became detectable, I knew her intentions. Due to the fact that I wanted you to be completely mentally present for our match, I prevented her from entering your dwelling. She never denied my accusations. If anything, her behavior supported my hypothesis" Gaara finished, pleased that he had finally drawn a reaction of some kind from the blonde. Naruto cast a brief glance up at Hinata, who was wearing an uncomfortable frown.

The cruel genin then looked back to Hinata as well, receiving a look of piercing anger in return.

"It seems that she's pieced together the topic of our conversation. Clever girl" he said with a chuckle. Naruto slowly turned away from Hinata and lowered his eyes to the ground.

"I know this must be difficult for you. To find out that you affiliate so closely with a potential rapist" Gaara mocked sadistically. Naruto sighed heavily and raised his eyes up from the ground, revealing two red irises with slitted pupils.

"You don't know when to quit running your mouth. You're making a bigger deal out of what you fealt during my fight with her than you should be. All of what you just said is crap" Gaara laughed out loud.

"You're a tougher nut to crack than I figured you'd be. I assure you, though, I'm telling you the truth. I have no incentive to lie to you. None at all, in fact. Truth is always more potent when it comes to psychological warfare" he said. Naruto looked to Hinata once more, who maintained eye contact despite her obvious discomfort.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you" he hissed as he readied himself to fight. The redhead grinned and called his sand to action.

"And I'll enjoy watching you fail"

* * *

**A/N: I know that the final scene may be a bit upsetting to many of you, and believe me, I get it. This fic will likely end up being M-Rated by its conclusion (No lemons, just very, very dark subject matter). Hope you all enjoyed regardless.**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	34. Invasion of the Sand

**A/N: Time for things to become chaotic and fun. Let's throw this structured event into a blender and see what happens.**

**Chunin Exams, Final Round, Part 5**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Hinata struggled to control her breathing as she leaned over the railing of the observation deck that looked down to the arena, where a fox-fueled Naruto was duelling Gaara. As it was now, the battle was violent and dramatic, with both Jinchuuriki having inflicted significant damage. Although, Gaara seemed to be the much less hindered of the two. What was stressing the heiress, however, was not the battle itself.

'Why? Why would he tell him? What's the point?' Hinata silently questioned as Naruto roared defiantly at the massive wave of sand approaching him. The blonde easily evaded the mass of mobile earth and blitzed his fellow Jinchuuriki, launching him backwards with a cracking punch to the left side of his jaw. Joy briefly creeped into the emotional complex of the Hyuga girl, but was quickly extinguished by a wave of bitterness.

'Right when I thought I had finally made it all up to you, Gaara comes and puts that in jeopordy.' she thought to herself with her eyes downcast. After a moment of staring at the railing, she looked back towards the battle.

'Look at you. Battling a literal and metaphorical demon, not an ounce of quit in your body. You're terrified, but you understand that you mustn't let that fear hinder you. I was, and still am a pathetic fool. I hated you for no reason other than your social standing, and even after I came to adore you, I questioned your commitment. How stupid of me' she thought to herself. Naruto then threw a hard punch at Gaara, which his fellow Jinchuuriki evaded and used as an opportunity to grab hold of the blonde. Gaara then kicked out one of Naruto's legs and tossed him aside.

'I admit it. You're beyond me, Naruto Uzumaki. Far beyond me' she relented as Naruto sprang back to his feet and forcibly freed himself from the sandy tendrils that had seized his limbs. She then chuckled to herself bitterly.

'Life has a cruel sense of humor. I told him once that he wasn't worth my time, and now here I am asking myself whether or not I'm worth _his_. All I've ever done is antagonize you, and here you are, leaving me in your wake.' she thought as her composure slowly returned.

"I'm sorry for doubting you, Naruto-kun" she whispered aloud before straightening her posture and returning to her seat, where her father, sister, and cousin awaited her. Hiashi gave her a look of concern as she sat down slowly.

"What is distressing you?" he asked gently. Hinata sighed and folded her hands in her lap before answering his question.

"Nothing important, father" she said vaguely, her tone making it clear that she did not wish to elaborate. The clan head nodded and turned his attention back to the match. Naruto was now bleeding profusely from a gash in his hairline, as he had been grazed by one of Gaara's spikes several minutes previously.

"It's become much more competitive, but Uzumaki-san is still constantly having to battle his way back from behind. At no point has he been clearly _winning _this fight" Hanabi said grimly as Naruto side-stepped a pillar of sand and rushed to attack the redhead. Neji nodded in agreement.

"As much as I despise him, Gaara is approaching him perfectly. He's enforcing a long distance, and putting the impetus on Uzumaki-san to cross it. The time it takes him to close that gap is more than ample for Gaara to either intercept him with something or prepare a defensive maneuver" he said as Gaara ducked under a kick aimed for his head.

"Naruto-kun's best successes have come when he manages to draw the sand in one direction before changing his trajectory shortly afterwards. He's landed clean several times doing it, but it isn't enough" Hinata interjected. The moment the sentence left her mouth, Gaara was sent reeling by a headbutt from Naruto, which was soon followed by a hard kick to the sand ninja's stomach.

"Gaara has absolutely no answer for him at close range. The difference in speed, power, and technical acumen is staggering. Luckily for him, he's nonsensically durable. He's just shrugging off sickeningly forceful punches and kicks as though they never connected to begin with" Neji said with a shake of his head. The Jinchuuriki in question's head was then snapped back by a sharp, left-handed punch from Naruto. Hinata leaned forward in her seat and looked on hopefully.

"Naruto-kun seems to have found his range. In the last minute, he's landed more strikes than he has the entire match as a whole" she said. Her family collectively nodded in agreement as their comrade continued to find ways around Gaara's sand and punish him with strikes.

Little did they know, Naruto was about to be a victim of his own success.

* * *

Naruto grinned and bared his fangs as Gaara staggered and fell to his back twenty feet away. The konoha genin had hit upon a method to bypass the sand completely by accident, but it had netted him more success than he had experienced at any point previously.

'Those sand tendrils are attracted to chakra. They follow it around until they can touch, and eventually crush it. If you just leave a piece of your chakra lying around, the sand will ignore you for a second' he reviewed within his mind as he watched the redhead rise to his feet. To his surprise, Gaara was not distressed or frustrated in the least. Quite contrary to what would have seemed to have been a logical reaction, he was laughing.

"Good, good. Much better. About time you showed some backbone. Rather impressive for a cretin, I must say" he said as he dusted himself off and cracked his neck. Naruto scowled.

"Big talk coming from the guy who just picked himself up off the ground for the third time in five minutes" he retorted. The redhead tilted his head to one side and smirked.

"You really haven't pieced it together yet, have you?" he asked. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows and stepped forward.

"What are you on about? There isn't anything to 'piece together'. I'm beating you into a bloody paste" he snapped defiantly. Gaara stood up straight and locked eyes with his foe.

"Keep your eyes on mine. Tell me what you notice" he ordered. The blonde indulged the redhead and stared into his irises for a moment before the truth of his situation slapped him across the face. Gaara's grin widened.

"Ah, you've figured it out. You aren't the only Jinchuuriki in this arena, Naruto. I still have _my_ Tailed-Beast to tap into" he said, his eyes shifting from blue to gold in color. A surge of wind then blew through the arena, scattering sand and throwing Naruto's hair back. The blonde clenched his jaw and took a step back as Gaara's chakra increased in intensity.

"Before we continue, I think we should do something about this deafening crowd" the sand ninja said. He then raised a hand toward the sky and looked to the pair of Kage observing the match. He then snapped his fingers. In an instant, the cheers and screams of the attending crowd vanished, leaving an unsettling silence. Naruto's eyes widened.

"What did you do?!" he demanded as he struggled to process the unnatural lack of sound permeating the stadium. Gaara raised his hands in a gesture of faux defensiveness.

"I myself did nothing. I simply gave a signal. As for why things are suddenly so quiet, worry not, for your comrades and countrymen are perfectly healthy. They've just been put to sleep. A genjutsu" he explained. The blonde growled.

"Let me guess, you're invading us?" he asked tensely, struggling to control his temper as he silently weighed his options. Gaara nodded and smiled.

"Yes, we are. I personally feel that it's unnecessary, but I have no control over such decisions. I'm simply here for the fun of it. In fact, I wouldn't even be present if this invasion hadn't been planned. With my heritage and level of strength, I would have been promoted eventually without needing to take this exam at all. Not that something as superficial as a promotion matters to me" he replied. Naruto stepped into his taijutsu stance.

"Why are you being so talkative? Shouldn't your plans be kept secret?" he asked skeptically as he prepared to attack his foe. The sand ninja gave him a dark look and called his sand to his side.

"Because you won't live long enough for that information to be of any use to you" he said before sending out a dozen tendrils of blood-stained sand the blonde's way. Naruto evaded them with relative ease at first, but was eventually seized by the ankle and launched into the arena wall. As he bounced off the stoney barrier, Naruto formed a spiraling sphere of chakra in his right hand, which glowed purple rather than its standard blue. He then blitzed forward with the Rasengan outstretched in front of him. The sphere carved through all of the sand that attempted to stop him, clearing him a path towards Gaara.

To his shock, his opponent stood his ground and smirked. When Naruto thrust the spiralling Jutsu towards the redhead's chest, Gaara caught hold of his wrist and planted his feet, stopping the excitable genin in his tracks. Naruto grunted and attempted to push the Rasengan closer to Gaara's chest, but found himself unable to budge his fellow Jinchuuriki.

'He's a lot stronger. I can't move him' he thought frantically as the sand ninja's grip on his wrist tightened. The blonde then opted to abandon his original tactic. He allowed his jutsu to dissipate before stepping forward and swiping Gaara across his jaw with a quick, left handed punch. The strike made the redhead flinch and release Naruto's wrist.

Naruto attempted to follow up with another punch, this time with his right hand, but was cracked on the temple by a hard, left-handed punch from Gaara that forced him to momentarily take a knee. The redhead opted to simply watch Naruto rise to his feet rather than pursue him further. The konoha genin glanced up to where the Hyuga family was sitting and sighed inwardly when he spotted Hiashi and Neji waking Hinata and Hanabi. He then turned his attention back to the newly empowered Gaara.

'You guys had better find a way to fix this genjutsu thing, because I've got my hands full'

* * *

Shikamaru groaned as he was shaken back to reality. For what had seemed like hours, the shadow user had been trapped in a soft, silent room of birds feathers. The moment he had found himself in the room, the lazy genin knew he was in an illusion. Unfortunately, Shikamaru possessed neither the skillful finesse or the appropriate chakra reserves to dispel said illusion.

As his vision cleared, the shadow user was able to make out the outline of Neji, who had propped him up against the wall of the seating area. After a moment or two, Shikamaru began to rise to his feet.

"What happened? Spare no details" he asked. The Hyuga prodigy shrugged and gestured to the massive crowd of incapacitated villagers and foreigners.

"I'm as lost as you are. Out of absolutely nowhere, a large-scale genjutsu was cast over the arena. Hiashi-sama and I were able to resist it and remain conscious. We immediately woke Hanabi-sama and HInata-sama, who are waking people as we speak" he explained quickly. The sound of a large explosion then tore through the stadium. Shikamaru made his way to the railing and looked down into the arena.

"Geez. Looks like they aren't bothered by all of this. They're going even harder than they were before" he commented as he turned back towards Neji. The pair was soon joined by the rest of the Hyuga family, who had apparently awoken much of the southern section of the arena and set them on their way to evacuate.

"Hokage-sama and Kazekage-sama have disappeared from sight. If I had to guess, this was orchestrated by Suna. I haven't seen a single sand ninja among the unconscious. There were at least fifty in attendance for Gaara's match, and now they're all gone. Hokage-sama has likely transported himself and Suna's leader to an alternate location to engage him in combat" Hiashi theorized. Hinata nodded in agreement.

"From the looks of it, Naruto-kun is operating under a similar mentality. He's clearly doing his best to confine Gaara to this arena, and is making sure that none of their clashes affect the crowd" she said. Neji then turned to Shikamaru and gestured to Hanabi.

"Nara-san, would you be willing to escort Hanabi-sama out of the stadium and back to the Hyuga Estate? I would rather if she weren't so near the commotion" he requested politely. The young Hyuga opened her mouth to protest, but was silenced by a stern look from her father.

"I second that notion. You will compensate, Nara-san. Trust me" he said to Shikamaru, who shook his head and began to lead Hanabi towards a flight of stairs that lead down to the base of the stadium.

"I don't want your money or any publicity. I'll do it regardless" he said as he pulled Hanabi along. Before he could take her down the stairs, Hiashi called out to him.

"When you arrive at the Estate, take her to the leftmost house. Once you're inside, go to the basement. I feel as though this conflict may take awhile to resolve" he said. Shikamaru nodded and took Hanabi down the stairs. Once he and the young Hyuga were out of sight, Hiashi turned to Neji and Hinata.

"Alright, we still have plenty of people to awaken and evacuate. It may take quite some time, but we must complete this task" he said authoritatively. The Hyuga children nodded and set off to wake a slew of nearby villagers. The clan head heaved a deep breath and prepared to join in.

"Need some help?"

Hiashi whirled around to see Kakashi and Guy leaning against the wall, both of them wearing solemn looks on their faces. The elder Hyuga sighed in relief.

"Yes, that would be much appreciated" he said as he shook a man awake and re-balanced his chakra-clow. Kakashi and Guy then began to do the same.

"We have Kurenai working on the genjutsu itself, so there's a chance that this issue will be solved all at once fairly soon" Kakashi informed Hiashi. The silver haired ninja then glanced over the railing and winced.

"Looks like Naruto is having a rough go at things right now. Oh well. We have to trust him. We have more important things to be worrying about" he said. The clan head raised an eyebrow.

"Such as?" he asked skeptically. Kakashi responded by drawing a kunai and stabbing it into an unconscious body, which immediately morphed into that of a Suna ninja.

"They've hidden soldiers amongst the fallen" Hiashi breathed, immediately activating his Byakugan and scanning the area, spotting a large number of enemy ninja feigning sleep.

"There's at least two hundred of them. More than I had estimated" he muttered. The 'sleeping' ninja then began to rise, disturbed by the murder of their comrade. As their numbers became more apparent, Guy grinned and slapped his comrades on the shoulder.

"Come, my friends. It's time for a friendly little competition. The first to forty bodies is owed a dinner paid for by the losers" he announced as he kicked an oncoming sand ninja down into the arena, where he was crushed by Gaara's sand. For a brief moment, Kakashi and Hiashi were kindred spirits, with an identical thought crossing their minds as they sighed.

'Some things never change'

* * *

Shikamaru chewed his lip absently as he and Hanabi trekked through the surprisingly long and winding hallway of the stadium. Directional cues were plastered on the walls, meaning they would not lose their way, but the journey had already gone on for far longer than the shadow user had anticipated.

"Are we almost out?" Hanabi whined as Shikamaru led her along. Just as the lazy genin was about to respond with a vague, unknowing answer, the shine of sunlight showed around the corner of the hall.

"Does that answer your question?" he asked tiredly, earning a nod from the young Hyuga as they approached the exit. Once they rounded the corner, however, Shikamaru froze and put a firm hand on Hanabi's shoulder to stop her from advancing any further. Standing between the exit and the pair of konoha ninja was Temari, who had reclaimed her fan from the wall, and was still sporting a litany of cuts from her battle with the shadow user.

"Imagine meeting you here, Shikamaru" she greeted blankly, earning a narrowed glare from the shadow user. Shikamaru stepped in front of Hanabi and folded his arms across his chest.

"Cut the crap. What is it you want?" he demanded calmly. The sand kunoichi scowled and stepped forward towards the pair.

"Should be pretty obvious. I'm here to intercept you. To make sure you don't go any further than you already have" she said bluntly. Shikamaru sighed and assumed a taijutsu stance.

"I really don't feel like fighting you again. I don't like hitting women. Then again, you look a whole lot more masculine than most of the girls I know, so maybe I won't mind as much" he said. Temari barked a short laugh and reached for her fan.

"Feminine or not, I'm a whole lot less tired than you are. This won't end well for you" she said menacingly. The shadow user's eye twitched a bit.

'She's right, as much as I hate to admit it. I'm still exhausted. I don't know how, but she looks as fresh as she did when our match started' he thought to himself somewhat frantically. He then glanced over his shoulder at Hanabi, who was looking quite afraid.

'I've got to get her out of here. Temari is probably going to kill me, but that doesn't matter. She needs to survive' he thought as he looked back to his foe.

"At least let the kid pass. She's of no threat to you, and she doesn't have any information. I'll give you a fight if you do" he reasoned. After a moment of silence, Temari nodded, shocking the Nara.

"She's got twenty seconds to get lost. If she isn't gone by then, I'll carve her up" she said. Hanabi looked to Shikamaru in a panic, but was urged forward by the shadow user.

"Run, and go to the basement like your father told you to. Don't argue" he ordered. Hanabi reluctantly nodded and sprinted past the fan wielder. Once she was gone and out of earshot, Temari and Shikamaru prepared to engage.

"Be real, you aren't under any orders to guard this exit. If you were, you wouldn't have let her go. You just came here to look for me" the shadow user said. Temari smirked.

"So what if I did? I'm a competitive person, and I hate losing. I'm going to make you regret letting me live" she said while unfurling her fan. Shikamaru sighed.

"Honestly, killing me is a favor. Being a ninja kind of sucks" he replied tiredly. The fan wielder shook her head and licked her lips.

"Kill you? No, that's not what I'm going to do. Let's just say you're going to have a change of scenery"

* * *

**A/N: DUN DUN DUN. I know that the transition happened quick, but it didn't really need to be all that elaborate. Hope you all enjoyed it :)**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	35. Whisked Away

**A/N: I honestly love how many of you hate Gaara in this fic. wThat means he's serving his purpose. He isn't supposed to be likeable lmao**

**Chunin Exams, Invasion, Part 1**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Hiruzen heaved a deep breath as he evaded a blast of fire approaching from his right. For the past fifteen minutes, the Hokage had been battling against an all-too-familiar foe. One that he himself had cultivated and given the tools to thrive. The old man turned to face his momentarily stationary enemy and scowled.

"Was all of this really necessary, Orochimaru? Potentially sparking a world war for nothing more than a grudge? You're smarter than that" he asked while shielding his face from the billowing smoke that his former pupil's flaming jutsu had produced. The Snake Sanin chuckled to himself and shook his head.

"Who said this was about you exclusively? My situation with you is certainly part of why I'm here, but there's more to it than that" he corrected. Hiruzen scowled and motioned for the pale man to elaborate.

"What else piqued your interest? You wouldn't be here if something hadn't caught your eye" he asked skeptically. Orochimaru gestured back towards the distant stadium, where the panicked screams of Konoha villagers could be heard.

"Two things, actually. That young Jinchuuriki you've been trying and failing to nurture, Naruto, was it? He caught my eye in the forest. That boy is capable of using both the Rasengan and the Shadow Clone jutsu. Unheard of feats for a genin. On top of that, he's holding his own with Gaara of the Desert as we speak, a boy who was, and still is, well on his way to becoming the next Kazekage. Naruto possesses a great degree of natural power, even ignoring the fox" he explained as he charged forward to attack the elderly Kage.

Hiruzen growled and lept forward to meet his former pupil, seizing him by his wrists and flinging him onto another rooftop.

"You said there were two things that sparked your interest. What was the second?" he questioned as he weaved hand seals at blinding speed. Moments later, the Hokage unleashed a blast of pressurized air from his mouth the launched Orochimaru up into the air. The Snake Sanin grinned and flipped himself back over mid-air, managing to land in front of Hiruzen.

"At heart, I'm a scientist. I enjoy taking things apart and observing how they function. But, in recent years, I've developed a second love. _Psychology_" he began as he dusted himself off and drew a kunai. He then blitzed forward and clashed against Hiruzen, who had also drawn a kunai. As sparks flew, Orochimaru continued his explanation.

"Most young ninja, namely teenagers, are a garbled mess of hormonal emotion and bad opinionation. You would know, sensei. You taught them for a living. Your current crop of genin has a variety of fascinating case studies in mental illness, but one in particular stands out above the rest" he said vaguely, allowing Hiruzen to decipher the individual's identity.

"Hinata Hyuga. The girl you marked" the Hokage growled as he kicked the Snake Sanin in the chest and launched him back. Orochimaru nodded in confirmation.

"Such a fascinating mental makeup that girl has. Elitist, yet completely lacking in legitimate self-confidence. Hard as steel, but situationally bendable. Talented and intelligent, but outclassed by the true freaks of this world. I decided to amplify those flaws to better understand them, which is why I marked her. As a bonus of sorts, she was Naruto's teammate, which meant that her artificially magnified negative traits would inevitably clash with his own" he said. The Hokage clenched his jaw.

"Do you have _any idea_ how much pain you caused the two of them? You nearly destroyed the closest thing to a legitimate friendship either one of them have ever had" he hissed. Orochimaru laughed out loud.

"I didn't destroy a thing. I simply gave the girl the tools to burn it all to the ground, and she did. It was quite fascinating to watch. They even seemed to rebuild their tattered relationship after the fact, but it seems that the boy from Suna put a swift and brutal end to that" he said coldly. Hiruzen then vanished from sight, reappearing a moment later with his fist buried in Orochimaru's gut.

"Human beings are not pawns to be smashed against one another. Taking pleasure in the potential destruction of their happiness is low, even for you" he growled as he twisted his fist into the Sanin's stomach, eliciting a groan of pain from his former pupil.

"That's where you and I differ, sensei. Some people are born to be the entertainment of the powerful. Not all men are created equal. Even the Kazekage fell into the category of whipping boy. He was overwhelmed immediately. But you, Hiruzen, you're like me. Which is why I still respect you to some extent" Orochimaru said through a painful cough. The Hokage tossed the pale man backwards and assumed a taijutsu stance.

"You're wrong, Orochimaru. No one man is superior by default, and you have absolutely no right to interfere with the lives of others" he said as he prepared to engage once more. The Snake Sanin grinned.

"Whether or not I have the right is irrelevant. There isn't a shinobi in this village that can stop me. You included"

* * *

Shikamaru spat blood out of his mouth as he struggled to catch his breath. He was leaned against the concrete wall of the stadium hallway, and had been for roughly thirty seconds. Despite it having lasted less than a minute by this point, the momentary break was the longest he had experienced in the previous twenty minutes

'She's smart. There's no sunlight in here, and the electricity went out about ten minutes ago. There are no shadows. I can't trap her unless I can force her out into the entrance again. Unfortunately, trying will get me cut in half. Just my luck that her jutsu can't cut concrete' the shadow user thought to himself as he listened closely for Temari's footsteps. After nearly a minute, her voice cut through the deafening silence.

"This game of cat and mouse is getting old, Shikamaru. Just come out. It would make things much easier for both of us if you do" she called from an indecipherable location in the surprisingly complex hallway system. Shikamaru scowled as he did his best to quiet his breathing.

'You've been spouting crap like that this whole time. Why? You're smart enough to know that it won't draw me out' he wondered to himself. Just as the thought had finished forming, he was tapped on the shoulder. The lazy genin reflexively whirled around, only to be met with a pair of cold green eyes hovering three inches from his own.

"You really are tired. I figured you'd be tougher to corner" the sand kunoichi said, her breath hot on his face. Shikamaru instinctively stumbled back, his legs threatening to give out due to a mix of fear and exhaustion. Temari calmly stalked him backwards, maintaining the same uncomfortably close distance the entire time. After ten shaky steps back, the young Nara's back hit the opposite wall.

"How'd you find me? It's been dim in here since the electricity went out, and I kept my mouth shut" Shikamaru demanded raggedly. Temari responded by lightly grazing the bottom of his chin, bloodying her index finger in the process.

"I could hear the blood dripping from your nose and mouth. I could smell it too. Where I come from, everything smells like sand and sounds like an irritating breeze. Any variation means a storm is coming. My senses are sharper than yours. You were never going to evade me for long" she said. The shadow user flattened himself against the wall to create another two inches of space between himself and his foe.

"You could at least respect my personal space while you kill me" he complained irritatedly. Temari shook her head and produced a sheathed kunai. She then pinned one of his arms to the wall and used her teeth to unsheath the kunai.

"What the hell are you-" Shikamaru began, clamming up when he saw that the blade in Temari's free hand was dripping with a clear liquid. The fan wielder then pressed the knife to his neck and pulled gently, splitting his skin and allowing the substance to seep into the non-fatal wound. She then leaned into his ear.

"I'm doing you a favor. Now shut up and go to sleep" she whispered as Shikamaru went limp. Temari caught his unconscious body just before it could hit the cold, hard floor. She then slung him over her shoulder and began to walk back towards the exit.

'I don't like this anymore than you do, but at least this way, you'll survive the invasion'

* * *

Naruto roared defiantly as he leapt over a wave of sand and crashed down towards the earth. Before he could hit the ground, the blonde broke his fall by slamming his fist onto the top of Gaara's head, cracking the ground beneath his feet and forcing him to take a knee. Naruto then yanked the redhead to his feet and cracked him with two punches, sending him stumbling back a few steps. Gaara then regained his footing and charged forward uncharacteristically. Despite the oddity of the action, Naruto did the same and met his foe halfway.

The boys threw simultaneous, right-handed punches, each of them missing by inches. They then loaded their momentum into hooking left hands from the opposite side. They both connected flush to the right side of one another's jaws, buckling their knees and forcing a momentary retreat from both jinchuuriki. Gaara then let out a low chuckle, which soon evolved into a maddened cackle. Within moments, he was laughing with verulient insanity.

"Oh, dear Lord above, you have no idea how long I've waited to taste my own blood! Life is such a bore when you have no threatening contenders! Keep coming, Naruto!" he yelled, sadistic anticipation dripping from his mad voice. Naruto felt a bead of nervous sweat trickle down his crimson-masked face, but opted to oblige the redhead and attack him once more. He blitzed forward and lowered his levels to strike his foe in the stomach, drawing Gaara's defenses downward to defend his midsection.

Naruto pulled out of his strike halfway, grinning as Gaara exposed his head further to block strike that hadn't even been thrown. He then ripped an uppercut under the sand shinobi's chin, snapping his head straight up and backing him up a step. Naruto then sprang forward and clobbered him on the temple with a wide, left-handed punch that staggered him further.

'Let's finish this right here and now' the Konoha genin thought firmly as he charged to thrust a clawed hand straight into Gaara's chest. Before he could connect with the potentially fatal strike, Gaara planted his feet and seized his wrist. He then yanked him into an upright stance. Before the blonde could react a searing pain erupted in his chest.

"You leave the most glaring openings" Gaara laughed as Naruto struggled to breath. He had been impaled through the right side of his chest with a sand spike. Instead of panicking, the blonde siphoned chakra into his left hand and impaled Gaara through the right side of his chest as well.

"So do you" he retorted as blood spilled from both of their mouths. Gaara gazed at his own shaking limbs and grinned.

"You have me shaking, Naruto. Then again, that's to be expected. I'm a quivering virgin of this kind of combat. To hear my heart in my ears, to taste iron, to have aching bruises...it's all new to me. The best part? These impalements won't stop us" he said before kicking Naruto off the sandy spike, removing the blonde's hand from his chest by extension. After regaining his footing, Naruto winced as his wound healed itself.

"You're insane" he accused through ragged breaths. Gaara smirked and licked the blood from his wrist.

"Tell me something I don't know"

* * *

Hinata released the breath she had been holding as Naruto and Gaara circled one another slowly. The heiress had been forced to fight the urge to cry out in horror when her beloved teammate had been impaled by the redhead, and the relief she now felt watching him move comfortably was almost palpable. She then returned her attention to the arena seating, which was littered with dead and unconscious bodies. Roughly ninety percent of the innocents inhabiting the stands had been evacuated, with the other ten percent having been injured or dying in the skirmish with the sand ninja.

Word had come in several minutes previously that the Anbu Black Ops were currently holding off two separate attempts to invade the village from the north and south respectively. From the tone of voice the messenger had been speaking in, the battles were going quite well from the perspective of Konoha, which was an excellent sign. As of now, both Hinata and Neji were tending to the injured villagers who remained in the stands.

'I could have sworn that I heard a commotion in the lower hallway system several minutes ago. Likely just a scuffle amongst the escapees, but even so…' the heiress thought to herself as she glanced back at the stairway. She then made her way to Neji, who was forcing a dislocated joint back into place on an elderly man.

"I'm going to go check something. I'll be back momentarily" she said. The Hyuga boy nodded and continued to tend to his patient. Hinata then briskly walked to the stairs and leapt down the flight to save time. When she reached the bottom level, which lead to the ground-level exit, she activated her byakugan and began to search the halls. For five silent minutes, the Hyuga girl wandered the intricate system of hallways, spotting nothing of interest. Once she reached a certain sector of halls, however, she began to notice small scrape marks on the floor, ceiling, and walls.

"What on earth?" Hinata muttered to herself as she felt the markings on the wall, which were carved surprisingly deep. She then rounded a corner and caught sight of something that ran her blood cold. A small trail of blood leading to a specific spot on the opposite wall, which was also stained with blood.

"What happened here?" Hinata wondered aloud in a shaky whisper. She then recalled the skirmish she had heard come from the bottom level of the stadium.

"Hanabi…" she said, suddenly realizing what may have happened. She then turned around and made a beeline for the exit. Once she reached it and made her way outside, she began to sprint towards the Hyuga Estate. After roughly two minutes of running, she crashed through the gates and tore through the front yard towards the leftmost house. Once inside, she scrambled down the steps that led to the basement.

"Hanabi?" she called as she touched down on the lowest floor. To her complete and total relief, the young Hyuga came bounding out of a corner.

"Ne-san!" she cried, throwing herself into her sister's arms. Hinata hugged her tightly for a moment before prying her off gently.

"Tell me what happened in the stadium" she urged softly. Hanabi sniffled a bit and nodded, taking a moment to recall the events.

"Nara-san and I were one our way out of the hallway, and we were intercepted by the girl that he had faced in his match. She claimed she was under orders to guard the exit no matter what. Nara-san was able to bargain and convince her to let me go on the condition that he stay behind and fight…" she said, breaking down a bit at the end of her account. Hinata's eyes widened for a moment before she regained her composure and sighed.

'So it was your blood, Nara-san. You have my everlasting gratitude. It is a bit odd to me that there wasn't a body, though. You were completely spent by the end of your match, and you weren't much better off when you took Hanabi to leave, so I doubt you could have won another fight with Temari' she thought to herself. She then put a hand on her sister's shoulder and pointed to a stack of blankets on the wall.

"Tuck yourself in and go to sleep. This nightmare will be over when you wake up. This house will be heavily guarded, so you'll be completely safe. I have to go now, so you'll have to make due on your own" she said gently. Hanabi nodded and made her way to the blankets. Hinata then began to ascend the stairs to return to the stadium. Before she could leave the basement completely, Hanabi called out to her.

"Be safe, Hinata" she said. The heiress looked back at her now, blanket covered sister and nodded.

"I'll do what I can"

* * *

**A/N: So yeah, Gaara IS completely nuts in this fic people. He just hides it better than canon Gaara did. Hope you all enjoyed! Tell me what you thought in a review!**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	36. Decisions, Decisions

**A/N: Nearly time for the end of the invasion. Should be real fun and interesting (I hope). Let's get on with it.**

**Chunin Exams, Invasion, Part 3**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Orochimaru grinned as he knocked Hiruzen across nearly a dozen rooftops with a stiff kick to his stomach. Slowly but surely, the momentum of the clash was shifting into the Snake Sanin's favor. Despite his still-immense power, the ancient Kage was visibly tiring. For the first time in ages, his long, brutal career was beginning to show its effects. After bouncing across a few more rooftops, Hiruzen regained his footing and charged back towards his former pupil. Orochimaru mirrored the action and leapt into the air with two kunai drawn. The pair clashed in mid-air, sending sparks raining down into the street below. Hiruzen then swiped the pale man's left hand aside with his own left hand and cracked him across his jaw with a right-handed punch that sent him crashing onto the rooftop from which he had jumped.

"Exhausted as you clearly are, you still have some snap in those punches. Keep it coming, sensei. I've seldom been so entertained" Orochimaru goaded as he stood to his feet and dusted himself off. He then reared his head back and opened his mouth wide, unhinging his jaw in grotesque fashion. Gradually, a sword emerged from his throat. Once it was half-exposed, Orochimaru seized its hilt and yanked it out, closing his mouth and smirking as he pointed the blade's tip at the ancient Kage.

"So dramatic. How typical of you, Orochimaru" Hiruzen said with a shake of his head. The Hokage then made a hand seal and widened his stance.

"Let me show you a creation of mine! Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!" he yelled as a large pair of shuriken appeared in his now outstretched hand. He then launched the projectiles at his former pupil. As the shuriken ripped toward the Snake Sanin, they tripled in number, leaving a horde of six for the pale man to either deflect or evade. Orochimaru opted to attempt to deflect them, managing to knock all six aside in short order.

"Is that all?" he goaded. Hiruzen chuckled and made a yanking motion with his left hand, earning a raised eyebrow from the Sanin. A moment later, Orochimaru was impaled from behind by four of the six shuriken, with one pinning down each of his limbs to the rooftop. The Hokage leapt across the gap between their rooftops, landing right in front of the prone Sanin.

"See underneath the underneath. Day one of ninja philosophy. The basics are the foundation of all skills and all jutsu. Something as simple as an intentionally mis-aimed shuriken can be deadly when applied correctly, as you just learned the hard way" he said as he knelt down before his injured pupil. Orochimaru laughed painfully and then grunted with effort as he forced his chakra into the blades holding him down.

"You never run out of tricks, old man. Always some new lecture to give. So full of disgustingly insightful wisdom. You make me sick in the best possible way" he growled as he rose to his feet, the shuriken having dislodged themselves from his body due to the surge of chakra. The Sanin then walked back a few steps before glancing down over the edge of the roof. His eyes then widened momentarily at the sight of something. He then returned his gaze to his former teacher.

"I feel rude for doing this, but I have something to attend to. I won't be too long. I'll be back in a few minutes" he said, earning a scowl from Hiruzen.

"And what makes you think I'll let you do as you please?" he challenged as he prepared another pair of shuriken to multiply. Orochimaru smirked and made a complicated series of hand seals before slamming his palm down onto the roof. A large cloud of smoke then erupted into the air. When the obstruction cleared away, two coffins stood on either side of Orochimaru.

"You'll have your hands full, sensei. Trust me" he said as he slammed a hand onto both coffins. Hiruzen's eyes widened at the sight as horror crept into his expression.

"You didn't…" he began, shutting his mouth when he realized that the Snake Sanin's immorality knew virtually no bounds. Orochimaru then broke out into a maddened laugh.

"Edo-Tensei. Such a handy technique in situations like this. You'll be contending with two ninja that I've hand picked just for you, sensei. I think you'll recognize them" he said as the coffins creaked open. The Hokage clenches his jaw as the two shinobi exited their respective coffins.

"Hiruzen...I didn't expect to ever meet you again. How unfortunate that this reunion is taking place under such reprehensible circumstances" Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage of Konohagakure said tiredly as he stepped out of his coffin fully. In the opposite coffin laid Hashirama Senju, the very first Hokage. He too emerged from his coffin and gave Hiruzen a look of sympathy as he assumed an ancient taijutsu stance.

"Your sins are even graver than I had first thought, Orochimaru" the third Hokage hissed as the Snake Sanin hopped across to another rooftop. The pale man stopped and glanced back over his shoulder.

"Oh, hush. I'm simply giving a taste of your own medicine. Now face your past, just as I faced you"

* * *

Orochimaru grinned to himself as he stood atop the roof of the stadium seating area. Everything had fallen into place nearly perfectly. Naruto and Gaara were engaged in a bloody, traumatic war of wills, with the redhead clearly holding the advantage, and Konoha as a whole had been thrown into a state of chaos now that the news of the invasion had spread throughout every sector. Beyond the chaos and warring Jinchuuriki, something else had fallen right into the palm of the Snake Sanin's hand. The very thing that had prompted Orochimaru to leave Hiruzen to combat the previous Kage of Konoha stood in the stands watching her potentially estranged teammate battle against Gaara.

'I suppose I can't fault the poor girl too much. She doesn't even know I'm here. Doesn't matter either way. I'll be taking back what's mine' the pale man thought to himself as he swung himself down into the seating area. He then began his leisurely stroll across the stadium, slowly but surely stalking his metaphorical prey. Before he could even make it halfway to the sector of the stands in which Hinata stood, Orochimaru was called to by a male voice.

"Orochimaru the Snake Sanin. To what occasion do I owe the honor?" Hiashi, who was leaning against the back wall of the seating area, asked sarcastically. The pale man chuckled and turned to face the Hyuga man.

"Nothing formal. There's something I've come to retrieve. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes. Stand aside, and you won't get hurt" he replied. Hiashi chuckled and took a few steps forward.

"Skipping straight to threats are we? How rude" he said before launching himself forward at the Sanin. Orochimaru sighed and side-stepped the blitz while kicking out the Hyuga clan head's legs. Hiashi tumbled to the floor. He attempted to rise to his feet quickly, but was knocked unconscious by a chop to the back of his neck.

'At least you went quietly' Orochimaru thought to himself as he resumed his walk towards Hinata, who had still not detected him. After another two minutes of silent walking, the pale man found himself twenty feet from the heiress' back, her curse-mark visible. It was at this moment that Orochimaru decided to make his presence known.

"You really should pay better attention" he said as he cleared his throat. Hinata immediately whirled around, her eyes widening to saucers when she caught sight of the Sanin. She clenched her jaw and took a step back.

"What do you want?" she demanded, her tone suggesting that she likely knew the answer to her fearful question. Orochimaru chuckled and bared his fangs.

"Let's just say that your time as my pet project has expired" he said vaguely as he walked her backwards slowly. Hinata glanced back over her shoulder down into the arena, where Naruto and Gaara were tearing each other apart.

"That's right. You're all alone. Nobody is going to save you this time, little Hyuga. Even if your beloved Naruto were available right now, there are no guarantees that he would help you at all" Orochimaru sneered as Hinata's back touched the railing.

"Don't speak to me as though your hands are clean, you vile wretch" the heiress snapped in a falsely defiant tone that seldom masked her fear. The Snake Sanin chuckled and seized Hinata by the front of her jacket.

"I have more blood on my hands and fangs than you could possibly comprehend. Thousands, literally thousands of people have died in my wake. When judged using societal norms and such, I'm completely irredimible. But, the thing is, I _know _what I am. You don't seem to yet. Hypocrisy is a poor habit to develop at such a young age" he said as he hoisted her into the air. Hinata closed her eyes and struggled against his grip momentarily, but soon found it to be futile.

"I'll make you a deal. If you can survive the removal process for that seal on your neck, I won't damage you any further. Does that sound reasonable?" Orochimaru asked. When the Hyuga girl did not respond, the Sanin grinned and sunk his teeth into her neck, eliciting a sharp cry of pain from Hinata. The explosion of discomfort prompted the heiress to fight back fiercely for a few moments, but soon found herself exhausted as her chakra was drained by the pale man's fangs.

Alongside the girl's natural chakra, the seal on her neck slowly began to fade away as well. After nearly a full minute of drainage, Orochimaru pulled his fangs from her neck and studied her.

'Still alive, if barely. Quite resilient' he thought to himself as he suspended Hinata in the air. The Sanin's thought process was then rudely derailed by a savage roar from down below. Orochimaru glanced down into the arena and smirked when he spotted Naruto staring at him with unrestrained anger.

"Ah, so the fox brat has spotted us. Here that, little girl? Your future rape victim still cares for you, if his tone of voice is any indication" he mocked. He then stepped forward and began to dangle Hinata's barely-conscious body over the edge of the railing.

"I know that I said your time as my pet project was over and done with, but I'd like to play with you one last time. We're going to see where your teammate's priorities lie"

* * *

Naruto heaved deep, rabid breaths as he stared up at Orochimaru, who was spitefully hanging Hinata over the edge of the seating area, threatening to drop her nearly one-hundred and fifty feet. The blonde was nearly out of energy by this point, as his battle with Gaara had been fought at a torrid pace for the entirety of its latter half. Despite his exhaustion, the moment he had spotted the life of his teammate being endangered, a burning desire to tear Orochimaru in half had overtaken him. Gaara, who had also noticed the new turn of events, chuckled a bit.

"A game of hangman in the middle of battle? How mistimed and unthoughtful" he jeered at both Naruto and the Snake Sanin. What he said next only served to fuel Naruto's already-intense levels of anger.

"Not that it would be a strenuously _difficult _game. 'Rapist' isn't a particularly daunting word to spell. She'd be all in one piece as she plummeted towards the earth below" he said coldly, earning a hard glare from the konoha genin.

"Shut your mouth before I shut it for you!" he yelled angrily. Gaara gave him a coy look and smirked confidently.

"I was under the impression that you were planning to do so regardless" he said. Naruto growled, but kept himself under control as he weighed his options.

'I don't know what to _do_. Gaara isn't even breathing heavy, and I'm almost out of gas. Orochimaru is way too much even if I were fresh, but...I can't just leave her to die. If he drops her in here, she'll be crushed by Gaara's sand before I can get to her, and there's no telling what Orochimaru will do to her if I just ignore him' he pondered desperately. After a moment of careful-but-rushed consideration, the blonde came to a decision. He turned away from Gaara and took a step towards Orochimaru. Before he could go any further, his foe called out to him.

"Let me ask you a serious question, Naruto. Why on earth would you choose to save her? Especially in this situation?" he asked skeptically. Naruto turned back towards him and scowled.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Gaara gestured to the drained heiress, who's eyes were now a crack open and fixed on Naruto.

"Think about this logically. You have absolutely no chance against Orochimaru. None whatsoever. The chances of you surviving an encounter with him are exactly zero percent. And for what? To save the whore who planned to incinerate your dignity and lather her naked body in its ashes? You won't beat me here today, but you at least have a fighting chance to die with your pride intact. You will be left with _nothing_ should you choose to follow through with your current plan of action" he reasoned, a hint of irritation creeping into his voice. Naruto stared at the redhead for a moment before turning around again.

"Then I guess I'll die a prideless loser" he said before leaping upwards and bounding up the wall. Once he reached Hinata, he snatched her away from the Snake Sanin and leapt to the other side of the stadium. Once he had firmly landed in the seating area, he gently laid Hinata down on her back.

"Naruto-kun..." she whimpered as she struggled to stay conscious. Naruto shook his head and gently brushed a strand of hair of her eyes.

"We'll talk later. Now stay here and wait for me. I have to go cut off a snake's head" he said before jumping across the stadium again, managing to land perfectly in front of Orochimaru. The Snake Sanin grinned once the boy was facing him.

"That was quite the act of heroism, Naruto. Admirable, if a bit confusing. Now what do you say we take this somewhere more...open? I'm just dying to see what the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki can do" he said. Naruto glared at him angrily, but nodded. The two ninja then vanished into a puff of smoke, leaving Gaara seemingly alone in the arena.

"What a letdown. Just as things were beginning to heat up, he leaves. Typical" the redhead complained to nobody in particular.

"Perhaps I can fill the void?"

Gaara raised an eyebrow and glanced up into the stands, eventually spotting Neji, who had just returned from investigating the hallway system. The sand shinobi allowed a smile to creep onto his face as the Hyuga boy leapt down from the seating area and landed twenty feet from him.

"You did say that we would inevitably face one another. This isn't quite the context I had imagined, but it's as good a time as any, if you ask me" Neji said as Gaara silently assessed him. The redhead then allowed his eyes to return to their natural blue color.

"I suppose I'm game. I highly doubt you'll be as enticing a foe as Naruto, but I can make due" he said while calling his sand to action. The Hyuga boy nodded and assumed his family's taijutsu stance.

"I wouldn't be so nonchalant if I were you. Such unadulterated confidence could get you hurt"

* * *

**A/N: I know this chapter was a little shorter, but I had limited time and really wanted to update today. Hope you all enjoyed either way! Tell me what you thought in a review!**

**Read and Review!**


	37. In the Dead of Night

**A/N: Sorry for the longer wait. I had some stuff to take care of some stuff IRL. Either way, we've got a story to continue.**

**Time for chapter 37**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

A cold wind blew across the rooftops of Konohagakure as Naruto attempted to stare a hole in Orochimaru's skull. It was approaching six o'clock by this point, and the sun was beginning to set. Darkness would descend upon the village soon, both figuratively, and, if the conflict at hand swung in a certain direction, _very_ literally. Unfortunately for the residents of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, their current line of defense against the dying of the metaphorical and literal sun was nearly spent, and his battle had not even begun,

'Now that I'm here looking at him, I'm not all that sure why I thought this was a good idea' Naruto admitted mentally as he ran several stratagems through his mind, none of which were safe or entirely logical given the entirely different dimensions of strength the Jinchuuriki and the Sanin possessed.

'Then again, most of what I do is kind of suicidal. Guess this isn't much different' the blonde thought with a sigh as he assumed a combat stance. He then charged across the rooftop to attack his foe, who grinned at the action and folded his arms across his chest. To Naruto's surprise, Orochimaru made no move to defend himself, instead opting to simply allow the genin to slam his fist into the left side of his jaw.

"For a half-pint, you're quite a forceful puncher. I actually _felt_ that" the pale man said with a laugh while seizing the Jinchuuriki's wrist and yanking him forward. He then drove his knee into Naruto's solar plexus, causing him to fold in on himself and drop to his knees to flounder for air. Before he could recover, Orochimaru grabbed hold of his hair and hoisted him up to his feet.

"One shot, and you're down on your knees. Come now, you can't be _that_ foldable" he goaded. He then let go of Naruto's hair and snapped his head back with a hard punch that sent him reeling to the edge of the rooftop. The genin managed to regain his footing before he could tumble over the edge.

"Don't you worry. I'm not" he growled as his eyes' red color deepened further. He then blitzed forward with another punch. Unlike the first time, Orochimaru raised an arm to absorb the impact of the strike. Once the punch made contact with his limb, the Sanin swung back with a left-handed punch that Naruto ducked under. The Jinchuuriki then extended the exchange further by launching a pair of hooking punches one after the other, aimed for opposite sides of Orochimaru's head. The first punch, which was aimed for the left side of the pale man's jaw, missed by a mile, drawing a grin from the Sanin.

A moment later, however, Naruto's left hand sailed into his jaw, bruising his cheek and sending him back a step. The blonde attempted to follow up with more strikes, but had his legs swept out from under him before he could advance any further.

"Throwing away the first punch to land the second. Crafty, but that's about as hard as I'm going to let you hit me" Orochimaru said with a mocking clap of his hands while Naruto climbed to his feet to continue fighting. Before he could respond, the blonde was crushed by a cruel punch to the stomach. As blood splattered from his mouth, the pale man grabbed the back of Naruto's head and pulled it down into a knee that reopened the cut on the boy's cheek.

Staggering and disoriented, Naruto tripped over his own feet and fell to his back roughly ten feet from Orochimaru, who was reveling in the damage he had inflicted upon his young adversary. The Jinchuuriki made an attempt to stand, but found that his balance was still severely compromised by the concussion he had been dealt. On top of his lack of equilibrium, Orochimaru's knee had cracked his orbital bone, resulting in a brutal ache in the side of his face.

"I still can't wrap my head around your thought process. Gaara asked you the same question, if memory serves. Why would you abandon a perfectly reasonable opponent in favor of one that you have no hope of even troubling? Even if we were to ignore her attempted indiscretion against you, the life of Hinata Hyuga could not possibly be valuable enough to commit willing suicide for the sake of" the Snake Sanin said as he made his way over to the compromised blonde.

"Unlike you, I think human life is precious, no matter what they've done wrong. And while we're on that topic, why do you keep bringing up something Hinata _didn't_ _do_? It doesn't mean jack to me. You're a dick, but you don't seem all that dumb. Why keep beating a dead horse?" Naruto asked as he slowly rose to his feet. Orochimaru responded back kicking him in the chest and launching him down into the streets of Konoha.

"It doesn't mean anything to you? Really? Even beyond the physical proof, there's the logical end of things. You have nothing but your dignity. You have no material attachments in the world. To be robbed of your only possession would shake you, no matter what you say" the Sanin said as he looked down on Naruto from the roof. The blonde scowled and lept back up to the rooftop, attempting to remove Orochimaru's head with his now-serrated nails on the way up, to no avail.

"Have you ever heard of the concept 'forgiveness'?" he asked as he assumed a taijutsu stance. The pale man tilted his head to one side and studied the Jinchuuriki for a moment.

"In recent years, I have gained a keen interest in human psychology. Namely the effects an environment has on the development of a person's thought process. Your case is one of the more fascinating I've seen, and I think I finally understand it a bit" he said as he effortlessly evaded a charge from the blonde.

"You're essentially teetering on the edge of collapse perpetually. Your friendships are brittle at best, with the most committed of them being built on mutual loneliness rather than shared interests, and you willingly take monumental risks because, deep down, you wish to cut your life short. A sad existence, but a fitting one for a demon" Orochimaru said coldly. Naruto bared his fangs and attacked once more, only to be countered hard and knocked to his rear end.

"You don't know a damn thing about me or what I've been through. Keep your mouth shut" he snapped while standing to his feet. The pale man gave him a patronizing look.

"I don't need backstory to understand what I'm looking at. A child adrift in a cruel world with no support and no insurance against human sadism" he said as he knocked Naruto back with a punch that snapped his head around and buckled his knees. The blonde winced as he dropped to a knee and heaved a deep breath, his lungs burning and his face aching.

"Why don't you hate them, Naruto? Why do you insist on allowing them to walk over you? Are you really so lacking in self-respect?" the pale man asked, a trace of disgust in his voice. Naruto sighed and slowly straightened to his feet.

"Who said that I don't hate them? I do hate them. I wish that they would just disappear. That doesn't mean that I have the right to get rid of them, though. They're still people. They deserve a second chance. People can change, and I'm willing to wait for that to happen. Even if that means suffering" he replied tiredly. He then raised his glare from the roof to Orochimaru.

"Because of that, I'm willing to do things like this. I'm willing to struggle for them. And hey, maybe they won't come around during my lifetime, which might not be all that long anyways" he said solemnly as the air around him heated up.

'I know you and I aren't on the best of terms, but I need you to give me all you've got. Give me, and by extension, _you_ a fighting chance. Please…' he begged the demon within his mind. After a moment of silence, the beast spoke two simple words.

'**Good luck' **

A second later, a blood-red charka began to seep from the blonde's body, enveloping his form and meshing into a pair of tail-esque structures behind him with a layer of chakra covering the rest of his body. Alongside the cloak of demonic energy, Naruto's nails and fangs grew to be even more feral and serrated than they had been before.

'I feel like I'm burning to death. I've...never been in this much pain before…' he thought to himself as he dropped into an animalistic taijutsu stance. Orochimaru grinned and regurgitated a sword from his gullet.

"The demon of Konohagakure is finally awake. A valiant stand for the sake of what little you hold dear. Glorified suicide" he said as he directed the point of the blade at the Jinchuuriki. It was at this moment that the sun finally hid itself behind the Hokage monument completely.

"There's no glory in something that you won't be remembered for" Naruto replied, his voice deeper and rougher than before. Orochimaru chuckled and took a step forward.

"A fair point, but don't worry yourself too much. _They were never going to remember you_" he said coldly. The Jinchuuriki remained silent at the comment.

A moment later, under the shadow of the monument, Naruto charged towards his foe, not a thought being spared for his own well being.

* * *

Neji heaved a deep breath as he reset for the umpteenth time. He was tired, battered, and beginning to question his own decision making. Despite having been engaged in a battle for nearly twenty minutes, Gaara was showing no signs of fatigue or frustration. He wore the same calm smirk that always seemed to be glued to his face. No effort had been exerted on his end, that much was clear.

'I'm not fast enough. Not even close. Every time I try to close in, I'm repelled, and from what he showed against Naruto, there are at least two more layers of defense beyond the sand cloud. This is hopeless' the Hyuga thought to himself frustratedly. His thoughts were then rudely interrupted by a sudden wave of murderous tension. The pulse prompted both Gaara and Neji to glance north, the direction that Naruto and Orochimaru had fled.

"So, he was holding out on me after all. If only I'd been more convincing during his departure. I could be sharing that experience with him. Another time, I suppose" the redhead said as he returned his gaze to Neji, who scoffed at his comment.

"If that really is Uzumaki-san, you should count yourself lucky that he didn't listen to you. You'd be drowning in a pool of your own blood if he had" he snapped. Gaara chuckled a bit at the retort.

"As I am now, yes. Keep in mind, however, that I held a fairly significant advantage over Naruto while I was actually trying, and even then, I never got the opportunity to show him my upper limits" he said. The Hyuga boy clenched his jaw.

"Even if you're telling the truth, I strongly doubt that you could have contended with what he's become in your absence" he said firmly. The grin vanished from the sand shinobi's face. Gaara then extended an arm towards Neji and opened his palm.

"In that case, let's put those doubts to rest" he said as his eyes flashed gold. Suddenly, the cold wind that had been blowing over the stadium ceased, leaving an unnerving silence. Gaara's body then became outlined in red as a set of markings appeared all across his body. Neji shuddered at the Jinchuuriki's presence. Despite his fear, the Hyuga boy found the gall to look his foe in the eyes, which now contained diamond-shaped irises.

"So, yours is the One-Tailed Tanuki. Those eyes and tattoos are unmistakable. They match the illustrations" Neji said shakily as he scrambled to regain his composure. Gaara nodded and let his arm drop.

"Indeed. I'm likely one of the few Jinchuuriki to have more or less total control of my beast's chakra. It does come at a price, as I am no longer capable of sleeping more than a few minutes at a time, but I find that the pros far outweigh the cons" he said, reveling in the strained body language of his adversary. Neji sighed and let his posture relax.

"I have a request" he said, earning a raised eyebrow from the sand shinobi, who motioned for the Hyuga boy to continue. Neji then pointed to the seating area.

"Spare Hinata-sama. Please. For all her faults, she doesn't deserve to die" he said quietly. Gaara laughed out loud.

"Even if I were to swear to you that her life would not be compromised, you have no way to know whether or not I keep that promise. The fact that you're asking at all suggests that you've resigned yourself to dying" he pointed out. The konoha genin curled his hands into fists.

"Does human life mean nothing to you? Is murder really just a passtime in your eyes?" he demanded. Gaara gave him a hard look.

"A long life is not a right, my unfortunate friend. You must earn that privilege. And if you or the girl aren't strong enough to preserve yourselves in my wake, then you have no right to survive" he said coldly as his sand slowly stalked towards Neji, who lowered his eyes to the ground. Just as the bloody sediment began to consume Neji, a voice cut through the arena.

"That's enough, Gaara. We don't have the time for this"

Gaara glanced over his shoulder to the seating area behind him. Standing atop the railing was none other than Temari, who had a body slung over her shoulder. The redhead narrowed his eyes at his sister.

"What makes you say that? Things are going quite smoothly" he asked skeptically. The fan wielder jammed a thumb toward the southern border of Konoha.

"Our forces are getting thrashed. Baki-sensei has ordered a retreat. Which is our cue to leave. Kankuro is already with him at the border" she explained. Gaara sighed and called his sand back to its gourd, much to Neji's surprise. The Hyuga boy then looked to Temari, his eyes widening when he spotted the body she was carrying.

"Nara-san!" he exclaimed loudly. Gaara instantly recognized the name and gave his sister a questioning look as he leapt up to the railing alongside her.

"I figured you had killed him. Or at least maimed him. Would you mind explaining yourself?" he asked skeptically. Temari leaned into his ear and whispered a few words, eliciting a grin from the redhead. Gaara then returned his attention to Neji.

"Consider yourself lucky. Under any other set of circumstances, you'd be dead. Now, I'd like you to pass on a message to Naruto for me. Tell him that if he wants his teammate back, he'll have to come retrieve him himself" he said as he and his sister turned to leave. Before Neji could respond, the pair vanished into a cloud of smoke. After a moment of shocked silence, the Hyuga boy's anger bubbled to the surface. He let out a yell of frustration and slammed his fist into the side of the arena.

"Damn it all. First, he toys with me, then he breaks my will without even touching me, and then he whisks away my comrade right in front of me" he hissed to himself as he shook out the hand he had punched the wall with. Neji then let out a sigh and lept up to the seating area and then to the roof of the stadium. Once he reached the top, he looked out towards the southern gate, where a distant band of ninja could be seen disappearing into the forest.

'From the sounds of it, you're a hostage now, Nara-san, and if what Hinata-sama told me is true, your capture is likely the thing that saved Hanabi-sama's life' he thought to himself. He then turned his gaze north.

'You had better survive, Uzumaki-san. There's more at stake than just your life now'

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Some fairly serious stuff came up, and I'm sorry if the quality suffered for it. Hope you all enjoyed it either way.**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	38. Swan Song

**A/N: Heyo boio's. Time to continue this big barrel of fun. Final arc is approaching, but we still have this one to finish.**

**Time for chapter 38**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Konohamaru gritted his teeth as he ran through the streets of Konoha. It was dark, cold, and the air was buzzing with unresolved tension. After being evacuated from the arena, the academy student had opted to return to his home for shelter from the impending conflict to come. After nearly an hour of monotonous cowardice, Konohamaru snapped and exited his dwelling. He had immediately regretted his decision, as the feeling of dread permeating the now-empty streets of Konoha was overwhelming. Against his better judgement, he had chosen to journey to the tension's source.

Eventually, Konohamaru caught sight of what he had been searching for. A cloud of smoke was billowing up from a building, and sounds of a fracas could be heard from within the obstruction. The academy student froze in his tracks and stared up at the smoke with bated breath as he awaited signs of life. His patience was rewarded a moment later when a redish-orange blur was launched off of the rooftop and down into the the street below. The impact of the entity's collision with the ground created a small crater in the asphalt and sent a tremor through the ground.

'What in the-' Konohamaru thought to himself as the airborne dust cleared away to reveal the sufferer of the fall. Much to his surprise, he recognized the figure that had risen to his feet.

'Naruto…' he mouthed as his friend and mentor silently glared up at the rooftop from which he had been thrown. Deciding to err on the side of caution, Konohamaru retreated into an alleyway to observe the events that were about to unfold. The moment he had fully made his way between the two buildings, Naruto leapt into the air and intercepted his apparent foe, who was airborne over his head. The two combatants clashed together mid-air and sent sparks flying in all directions. The force of the collision sent them both flying backwards to the ground. Once they had both regained their footing, they engaged once more.

It was then that Konohamaru was able to decipher the identity of Naruto's blade-wielding opponent.

'No way...it can't be. Orochimaru, the Snake Sanin. Why is he here? Why is Naruto fighting him?' he wondered to himself frantically as his elder friend traded strikes with the pale man.

'Naruto is glowing. It almost looks like a red suit or something. There's so much going on that I don't understand' Konohamaru thought to himself. Despite his lack of contextual understanding of the situation at hand, one thing was clear to the young ninja-to-be. Naruto was not fighting to win, but to survive. Each and every time the blonde made any headway in an exchange or managed to connect with a strike from long range, he was badly wobbled by the return fire, or was cut open by Orochimaru's blade.

Case and point, the very next trade of blows resulted in Naruto being dropped to his knees by a punch to the left side of his head and subsequently impaled by his foe's sword through the stomach. Konohamaru suppressed the urge to scream out in horror as the Jinchuuriki struggled to a standing position. To the shock and great relief of Konohamaru, Naruto clenched his jaw, yanked Orochimaru forward by the hand he was wielding his blade with, and ran him face-first into a fully committed overhand that snapped the Sanin's head back and forced him to release the sword from his grasp.

The blonde used the momentary lull in his adversary's assault to remove the blade from his stomach spit blood out of his mouth as his wound healed. The speed with which Naruto's seemingly fatal injury healed elicited a wide-eyed stare from Konohamaru, who's awestruck confusion was magnifying by the minute. Before he could even begin to form an explanation in his mind, Naruto and Orochimaru jumped up onto the rooftops and began to fight once more.

The young boy snapped back to attention and changed his position to better view the now-overhead war being waged.

'Come on, Boss. Snap him in half'

* * *

Orochimaru grinned sadistically as he doubled Naruto over with a knee to the ribs. The fight had been more difficult than initially anticipated, but still nowhere near as daunting as a man-to-man confrontation with the Third Hokage would have been, and the Jinchuuriki's body appeared to be failing him more and more as the battle wore on. As the blonde sunk to his knees in agony, the pale man seized him by the back of his shirt and ripped him off the ground.

"I'm genuinely impressed that you've managed to not only survive as long as you have, but also land a fair few blows. I actually have a bruise or two" he mocked. He then tossed him backwards to the edge of the rooftop. Orochimaru then weaved a sequence of hand seals and shifted his gaze towards a nearby alleyway. Staring up at the pale man from the ground below was a young boy, no older than eight years. Orochimaru was instantly struck with an idea.

'I missed you with this jutsu once before, but I have a strong feeling that I won't this time' he thought to himself. The Sanin then reared his head back.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" he yelled as he launched a sphere of searing chakra directly at the young boy. Naruto, who had managed to rise to his feet during the Sanin's sign-weaving, immediately tore his glare away from Orochimaru and turned it toward the destination of the fireball. A split second later, he launched himself from the edge of the rooftop and into the literal and figurative line of fire.

Fortunately for the young boy down below, the Jinchuuriki was still spry enough to cover the necessary distance to intercept the Jutsu with his body, but unfortunately for Naruto, he was far too drained to erect any sort of defense for _himself_. Due to this exhaustion, he absorbed the full, burning brunt of the superheated chakra with the front of his person. The force of the jutsu sent him flying towards the boy, who wore a look of shock and terror. Just before Naruto could collide with him, the blonde regained his bearings and twisted mid-air to change his trajectory to avoid landing on him.

Thankfully, the adjustment bore fruit and prevented the boy from being injured by sending Naruto crashing to the ground just to the left of him. The Jinchuuriki slid across the asphalt painfully for roughly ten feet before coming to a stop in a smoldering heap. After several tense moments of motionlessness, Naruto staggered to his feet and stumbled badly, having to use the wall of the alleyway to keep himself from collapsing once more. Several agonizing steps later, he turned to the boy whom he had just saved.

"What the hell are you doing out in the streets, Konohamaru? You know better. There's no reason for you to be here. You'll be killed" he berated him through ragged breaths. Konohamaru struggled to find his voice for a second or two.

"I-I didn't want to just sit around. I'm not a coward!" he exclaimed once he regained his ability to speak. The Jinchuuriki sighed and shook his head as he straightened his posture as best he could despite his injuries and failing stamina.

"There's a difference between brave and stupid, kid. You being here is definitely the second one. Now go home. You'll get your chance to be brave, but not today" he ordered as he forcibly rekindled the red cloak of chakra surrounding his body, which had been badly dimmed by the flaming jutsu he had withstood just moments before. Konohamaru instinctively stepped back as the intensity of his mentor's chakra pierced his senses.

"And how is what you're doing any less stupid?! You can't beat that guy! There's no way!" he countered desperately as Naruto plodded his way back towards Orochimaru, who was patiently waiting atop a building directly in front of the alleyway. Konohamaru's words initially elicited no reaction, but eventually, the blonde glanced back over his shoulder at him.

"Sometimes...you don't fight to win. You fight to protect. To defend the place you call home and the people that you consider family. There's more to life than coming out on top. I would know. Now please, run away. I don't want you to see this" he said solemnly as he turned his attention to the pale man above. A moment later, he leapt into the air to the sound of Konohamaru yelling his name.

The cry fell on deaf ears as the blonde collided with Orochimaru at the edge of the rooftop, forcing him backwards several feet and giving Naruto the space to plant his feet and pursue him further. Using his new footing as a push-off, the Jinchuuriki burst forward and threw a right handed punch at the left side of Orochimaru's jaw. Before it could connect, the Sanin caught his wrist and tried to pull him forward. Fortunately for the genin, his feet were solidly rooted in the ground, snuffing out any chance of his balance being compromised.

Instead of wasting energy and struggling against this issue, Orochimaru opted to throw his own right hand at Naruto's head. In a moment of clever mimicry, the Jinchuuriki caught the Sanin's wrist in identical fashion, leaving both combatants armless momentarily. Naruto shoved his head forward and slammed his skull into Orochimaru's, resulting in the pale man taking a step back. With their arms still occupied, they began to strain against one another to gain ground.

"Let's see just how far those seemingly endless reserves of chakra stretch, shall we?" Orochimaru sneered as his body began to glow with chakra. His physicality immediately became significantly more imposing, forcing Naruto to match his output of energy. The blonde's chakra cloak then gained a second layer of flame-like energy that flared and pulsated in retaliation to the flow of the Sanin's own chakra. The foundation of the building they stood atop soon began to tremble and crack under the immense pressure of the battle being waged on it's roof.

Within mere seconds, the space around Naruto and Orochimaru became engulfed in a storm of swirling chakra. The producers of the energy then released one another from their grips and initiated an exchange of blows in the eye of the hurricane of chakra. The Sanin swung a hooking punch at the side of Naruto's head the moment they separated, prompting the genin to pull his head down and to his left in order to avoid it. As Orochimaru attempted to follow his skull with another punch, he was caught absolutely flush with an overhand punch to the left side of his jaw, which Naruto's dramatic pull to the opposite side had provided momentum for.

The punch took the Sanin off of his feet and sent him crashing to the ground ten feet away. Despite desiring to do so, Naruto found himself unable to strike his downed foe further. Overexertion had exacted a heavy toll, and Naruto's body was beginning to ignore his commands. As Orochimaru rose to his feet, the chakra swirling around him and the blonde dissipated, leaving a silent night and a rooftop as their setting.

"Unlike before, I have no snappy remarks. Brilliant work, Naruto. You outmaneuvered a Sanin in close quarters. Be proud of that accomplishment. From the looks of you, It may be your last" the pale man said as he assessed his clearly-fading adversary. Naruto, to Orochimaru's surprise, chuckled a bit and let out a heavy sigh.

'I've got one shot left in me. I hate to ask, but...could you give me just a little more? If I'm going to die tonight, I want to make our last push count' he tiredly asked of the demon who had been silently watching his vessel struggle. In a surprisingly un-antagonistic tone, the fox responded.

'**Before I give you what you need, I'd like to say that you've impressed me. I considered you to be something of a coward throughout your life, but you've proven me woefully wrong. It may require your demise, but your people will see their foolishness. Tonight you stand as their final beacon of light, literally and figuratively. As long as it may have taken, you've risen' **the demon said with an approving nod that was only known to Naruto. A final surge of burning chakra then lit up the cold night once more.

'**Give him hell, Naruto'**

At those words, the fox's presence retreated back into the Jinchuuriki's mind, leaving him to complete the fruitless task he had set himself to. A humorous grin, identical to the thousands he had worn before, slowly crept across his face as he focused the demonic chakra into a spiraling sphere. Unlike his previous false pleasantries, however, this smile was genuine.

'You all loved to make fun of my dreams, but the joke is on _you_ guys now. See you assholes at my funeral' he joked to himself as he prepared himself to attack. With that last fitting thought, Naruto crashed forward to perform the final chorus of his beautiful swan song.

A song of minor key

* * *

**A/N: I KNOW I KNOW. It's short. I've been having some issues lately, but I also feel like adding any more to this chapter would ruin the mood. Hope you all enjoyed it despite the long wait. **

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	39. Blue Love

**A/N: Due to the shorter length of the last chapter, I'll be trying to make this one a tad longer. Thought you'd all appreciate that.**

**Time for chapter 39**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Kakashi forced himself to calm down as he considered the brutal set of circumstances that had befallen Konohagakure. Night had begun, panic was rampant, and the situation did not appear to be on track to improve.

'Lord Third is fighting off two unidentified beings, Suna's forces retreated before we could really inflict heavy loss, and Naruto is stuck fighting a goddamned Sanin' he thought to himself rigidly as he wrestled with the decision he was being forced to make as he looked out in the general direction of the combat. He then turned his attention north specifically.

'From what I can feel, Naruto is surviving. That probably means that Orochimaru doesn't really feel like killing him, not now at least. I have no way to know how long that'll stay the case, but I have a feeling that it won't be long' he lamented nervously. Kakashi remained silent for a moment before coming to a difficult, but educated decision.

"You'll have to keep yourself alive just a little longer, Naruto. I trust you a little more than our own Hokage right now, for what it's worth" he muttered as he set out towards the site of Hiruzen's still-raging encounter. Throughout the roughly five minute journey across the village, the presence of the two beings the Hokage was battling against became more and more potent, causing the jonin's concern to grow ever more intense.

'Who the hell are these guys? If their chakra keeps increasing as I get closer, they'll be past me in no time' he thought frustratedly as he leapt across numerous moonlit rooftops. Unfortunately, his fears were soon realized when the pressure being exerted by the two unknown enemies surpassed his own clearly and concisely. Upon finally arriving at a point that allowed Kakashi to view the battle legitimately, the sheer power of Hiruzen's opponents became completely understandable, if still a bit jarring. Clashing against the elderly Kage were none other than the previous two leaders of Konohagakure, Tobirama and Hashirama Senju.

Kakashi's eyes widened to saucers as he watched his superior valiantly fend off the two long-dead shinobi. Back and forth they went, with Hiruzen repelling on or both of the previous Kage, only to be struck from the opposite side a moment later. While his effort was brave, and he had clearly been combating them for some time already, it was clear that his stamina was beginning to fail him. Between every clash, a deep breath was taken by the ancient leader, an action that was beginning to cost him precious seconds in which he was being struck repeatedly.

'He can't keep this up for much longer. His age is showing' the silver haired ninja thought solemnly as he prepared to enter the fray against his better judgement. He then uncovered his left eye and opened it, allowing his sharingan to scan the battlefield. As he observed the movement and chakra pathways of the former Kage assaulting Hiruzen, his confusion grew.

'They don't have natural chakra systems. Something is off about this' he thought as he leapt into action. As he crashed towards the battle, he drew a pair of kunai and grit his teeth in preparation for his calculated collision with Tobirama, who was flying towards Hiruzen. The jonin reached his leader in the knick of time, managing to intercept the Second Hokage's charge with his kunai and repel him backwards.

The elderly Kage had also managed to deflect the attack of Hashirama and send him reeling, leaving he and Kakashi back to back.

"Perfect timing. I was wondering when you would arrive" Hiruzen said with a weary smile. The jonin raised an eyebrow and glanced over his shoulder.

"You sensed me, did you? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You notice everything. Now would you mind explaining to me why we're fighting a pair of dead men?" he asked. Hiruzen pursed his lips and shifted his position to be standing next to Kakashi rather than beside him as their foes grouped together.

"Orochimaru tapped into a forbidden Jutsu known as Edo-Tensei, which allows the user to revive one or multiple deceased beings from the dead by using a living sacrifice. Coincidentally, Tobirama Senju invented the technique. In short, they're reanimations. Luckily for us, they seem to be significantly weaker than they were in their primes" he explained. The silver haired jonin frowned.

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, it sounds to me like this should be a perfectly manageable situation for you if they really are a good bit weaker than they were" he pointed out cautiously. Hiruzen sighed and shook his head.

"You overestimate me, Kakashi. I was already beginning to feel my age when the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked, and that was thirteen years ago. I'm not what I used to be either. Beyond that, these reanimated Shinobi regenerate when destroyed. I've blasted them to smithereens at least twice each, and they've simply reformed and continued their assault" he said tiredly, his frustration at both his waning strength and the unfair odds audible in his rough tone.

"So, what you're saying is that they can't be destroyed, don't seem to fade, and have retained at least a tad of their previous strength. That's a tough one, but I think I may have a way around them" Kakashi said confidently, earning a quizzical look from his leader.

"Oh? Have you a plan, Copy Ninja? If so, out with it" Hiruzen ordered. The silver haired ninja then pointed to his left eye and closed it.

"Keep them off of me for five minutes and I can make them both disappear" he said vaguely. Despite the lack of clarity, the Hokage instantly understood and gave his subordinate a look of caution.

"The last time you used the Mangekyou, you were unconscious for nearly a week. Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked skeptically. Kakashi shrugged and assumed a defensive posture.

"I don't see any other options if destroying them is out of the question. I've already started loading the eye with chakra, so there's really no point in turning back" he replied. Hiruzen sighed and produced a pair of large shuriken.

"So be it then. Make sure you don't miss when the time comes" he said as he launched the projectiles in the reamination's direction. The metaphorical timer was then set for three-hundred seconds. Perhaps the longest of Hiruzen's storied career.

For the first sixty seconds, all was well. The elderly Kage moved, he countered, and he repelled his undead adversaries with relative ease. The next minute was more of the same, with Hiruzen bisecting Hashirama and putting a hole in Tobirama's chest. Come minute three, however, the tide began to shift dramatically. Within the first ten seconds of the time-frame, the old man was launched into the wall of a nearby building, putting a hole in the structure and forcing Hiruzen to fight his way back into open space head-to-head.

'This is getting dicey' Kakashi thought to himself nervously as his leader was knocked aside by Tobirama. Three minutes and thirty seconds had passed, and the final ninety seconds were shaping up to be more than a bit rough for Hiruzen. Another thirty seconds passed, with the trend of the battle continuing as it had seemed set to. The Third Hokage was powerful, but he was old, and his predecessors were not of human flesh. They were both more and less than mortal.

While the early exchanges had been fairly even, arguably advantageous ones, for Hiruzen, he was now being bludgeoned each and every time he collided with the reanimations. As the clock ticked down, Kakashi found it increasingly difficult to restrain himself from entering the fray and assisting his fading Hokage.

'Twenty seconds. Just twenty more seconds. Come on, Hokage-sama. Just hang on a little longer' he thought stressfully as he willed Hiruzen on towards survival. The elderly leader was then knocked flat on his back by Hashirama, who promptly pinned him there using wooden tree roots. Just before Tobirama could build on his brother's success by impaling Hiruzen with a kunai, which he had raised over his head and was preparing to drive downward, Kakashi's left eye shot open, revealing a pinwheel-esque design spinning in its iris.

"Kamui!" he yelled as he forced nearly all of his chakra into an ocular Jutsu. A dimensional vortex then ripped open between Hashirama and Tobirama and began to suck them into its singularity. Despite having aimed the technique perfectly, the effort required to allow it to consume two of the founding fathers of Konohagakure was absolutely monumental. Despite the seeming impossibility of the task, the Jonin pushed on, letting out a yell of painful-sounding effort as he drained his chakra supply down to the last drop.

Moments later, his efforts bore fruit, with the vortex completely consuming the pair of reanimations. The moment they were gone, Kakashi released the Jutsu, dissipating the swirling singularity. The jonin then dropped to his knees and coughed raggedly, splattering blood across the ground in the process. After regaining his bearings as best he could, Kakashi rose to his feet and turned to Hiruzen, who had managed to free himself from the tree roots and assume an upright stance once more.

"So, it worked after all. Not the solution I would have preferred, but we're both alive" he said as he dusted himself off. Before the silver haired ninja could respond, a surge of demonic chakra burned itself into their senses. Kakashi turned north and clenched his jaw.

"Naruto is making a final stand" he said solemnly. The Jonin then took a deep breath and gathered his bearings.

"Are you able to fight, Hokage-sama?" he asked. Hiruzen nodded and put a hand on his subordinate's shoulder as the men prepared to set out for the blonde's chakra signature.

"Even if worse comes to worse, know that you are not to blame. He chose to face Orochimaru alone. He very much reminds of his father in that regard. Stubborn and utterly dauntless. He's fought a brilliant fight given the circumstances" he said. Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"You say that as though you've been observing him the whole time" he said skeptically. The Third Hokage chuckled.

"Part of the reason I struggled so immensely with those reanimations was the fact that I was paying close attention to his struggle against Orochimaru. I honestly expected him to die quite a while ago" he said bluntly. Hiruzen then leapt forward across several rooftops.

"Come, Kakashi. Time is of the essence"

* * *

Naruto let out what was bound to be his final roar as he slammed a Rasengan containing the last of his already-empty reserves into Orochimaru. Realizing a moment too late that the Jutsu heading his way was a genuine threat, the Sanin was struck cleanly in the chest by the swirling ball of energy. Naruto then gave one final push as he emptied his will into his most trusted technique.

Orochimaru was launched backwards hard, sending him crashing into the side of a building and putting a hole into it. As the sounds of shaking infrastructure rung throughout the village, Naruto dropped to his knees and allowed the demonic chakra to drain from his body. His eyes returned to their natural color and his nails, fangs, and more pronounced whisker markings disappeared. After a moment of tense silence, a figure leapt out from the hole, landing on the edge of Naruto's rooftop.

"You know, I'd never given much credence to the saying that an animal is most dangerous while cornered and wounded, but you've changed my mind"

The blonde sighed and looked up from the ground, catching sight of Orochimaru once his gaze was directed at a forty-five degree angle.

"Just end me already. I don't feel like hearing you run your mouth" he requested tiredly. The Sanin shrugged and drew a kunai as he slowly walked towards Naruto.

"Have it your way then" he said. His kunai then began to glow with chakra as Orochimaru prepared to cut the Jinchuuriki's life short. As his end approached, Naruto chuckled a bit.

"As much as I hate you, at least I can say that it took a Sanin to finally put me down for good" he said. The pale man smirked as he raised the kunai over his head to put an end to the prolonged beating.

"That's a fine way to rationalize your death. Treat it as an accomplishment" he said coldly as his blade crashed down towards Naruto's face.

'Goodbye, Shikamaru, Kakashi-sensei…._Hinata…_'

To the Jinchuuriki's surprise, the seemingly inevitable never came. Instead, sounds of a skirmish became audible. Naruto slowly opened his eyes to the sight of Hiruzen gripping Orochimaru's wrists and pushing him back. After a moment of grappling, the Hokage kicked the Sanin in the chest and sent him backwards a few steps. As he struggled to process the situation at hand, Naruto was helped to his feet by a set of arms from behind.

"Easy, Naruto. Just sit back and relax. Your job is done" Kakashi, who was gripping his student by the shoulders, said reassuringly. Before the blonde could form words to respond with, Hiruzen was staggered and sent reeling back towards them, having been struck cleanly across his jaw by Orochimaru.

"You do realize how rude this is, don't you? The brat and I were in the middle of something" the Sanin sneered as he grinned at the new pair of ninja. Hiruzen growled and drew a kunai.

"Count yourself lucky that I arrived when I did. Had I found you standing over a body, I'd have removed your vocal cords already" he said menacingly. The threat drew a mirthless laugh from his former pupil.

"Where was this passion when you and I were fighting? I'm hurt, Sensei. But, that's neither here nor there. From the looks of you and your underling, killing you would be a waste. You're already spent. I've already accomplished what I came here to do, so I see no reason to humor you all any more than I already have" he said. The Hokage stepped forward and bared his teeth.

"If you think I'm going to let you slide away this time you are _sorely_ mistaken" he assured the pale man.

"If I was able to sit you on your ass, Old man'll murder you" Naruto chimed in from behind Hiruzen. Orochimaru sighed and shifted his stance a bit. The air seemed to deaden as the subtlest of glows emanated from the Sanin's body. Hiruzen pursed his lips and stepped back a few feet. Orochimaru chuckled at the elderly man's discomfort.

"See that, Naruto? As you said, he's an old man. He's a far cry from who he used to be. I still believe him to be the most powerful person in this village, but he pales in comparison to the Hiruzen Sarutobi of thirty years ago. _That_ man would have killed me regardless of how hard I tried" he mocked, earning a glare from the Hokage. The pale man then allowed his chakra to calm, returning the atmosphere to a simmer once more.

"My point is, I could have killed you at any point, and I'm willing to bet I could kill Hiruzen as well. But, I'm in a good mood, so I'm not going to do either of those things" he said. Before any of the Konoha shinobi could say a word in response, Orochimaru tossed out a smoke bomb, which burst into a haze of blinding gas. By the time the smoke cleared, he was long gone, leaving Hiruzen, Kakashi, and Naruto alone on the roof. Seconds after the Sanin's unceremonious departure, the Hokage looked as though he was nearing a boiling point, but he quickly calmed himself and turned the Jinchuuriki and Jonin.

"First and foremost, I'd like to thank you both for your assistance during this crisis. Kakashi, you saved my life, and you solved a seemingly unsolvable problem. That said, I still plan on putting you on paid leave for the rest of the month" he thanked the silver haired ninja, who nodded.

"Yeah, I figured. Probably a good idea, though. I'll drop dead the moment the adrenaline wears off" he said honestly. The Hokage laughed a bit and turned his attention to Naruto.

"Even moreso, thank _you_, Naruto. You stood your ground and held the line in the absence of your superiors, and you were willing to die for the sake of peace. You will be compensated for this, I promise" he said sincerely. The Jinchuuriki shook his head tiredly.

"I don't need anything as a reward. I'm...alive. That's payment enough" he said, an odd pause in his response catching the Hokage's attention.

"Kakashi, would you mind returning to the Stadium? If I'm not mistaken, Hinata still resides there with her family. I would like confirmation of their safety" he asked, his intentions clear to the Jonin. The silver haired ninja immediately did as he was told, disappearing into a puff of smoke and leaving the old man alone with the blonde. After a tense stretch of silence, Hiruzen spoke.

"I know how you feel, Naruto" he said, causing the young genin to flinch. Naruto lowered his eyes to the ground and heaved a deep breath as he returned to the thoughts that had been circulating his mind just minutes beforehand.

"It just felt so _right_, you know? Maybe I'm just a naive kid that wants a heroic ending, but dying to a Sanin while defending my home was something I was more than willing to get on board with once I realized that I had no way to win" he admitted quietly. The Hokage smiled and put a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Death or no death, what you did here tonight absolutely was heroic. I've been where you are more than once. Death is shockingly appealing once you've lived a little. This world is cruel, and the climate grows ever colder, but know this. Life is worth living. There is still much for you to do, much for you to accomplish" he assured Naruto. The blonde smiled for a moment, but the positivity soon faded from his face as he prepared to reveal the secondary reason that he was still so troubled.

"When I tap into the fox's chakra, I can sense the emotions of the people around me and where those feelings are being directed. While I was fighting, I could feel the fear of the village growing. But...only about half of it was directed at Orochimaru. A huge chunk of it was focused on _me_. I wasn't even the hometown hero. The village was split on who they seemed to be rooting for" he said sadly. Hiruzen sighed and rubbed his temples.

"And that is partially my fault. I've done a poor job of maintaining your reputation among the villagers, as was to be my task at your birth. But that's a story for another day. All that matters is that you continue on your path. You're growing into a fine young man, and they _will_ see some day" he said confidently. Naruto nodded and turned his back to the old man.

"Thanks, I appreciate your belief in me. Now, I think I'm going to go take a walk. Probably a long one. I'll be back in two days or so" he said as he approached the edge of the rooftop. Hiruzen watched him dangle his feet over the edge for a moment before calling out to him to gain his attention. Once he had tuned to face him again, Hiruzen tossed him a flask of water.

"Check in with me once you return. Try not to get yourself hurt" the old man said. The blonde gave him a thumbs up and hopped down from the building, breaking out into a run for the forest. Hiruzen then stared up into the night sky and allowed himself to relax for the first time in several weeks.

'Not an ideal day by any means, but not an entirely unsuccessful one'

* * *

Frigid rain poured from the sky as Hinata trudged through the forest that surrounded Konoha. The weather had been porous the entire day, and there were no signs of change in sight. Interestingly, despite the icy downpour, it was fairly warm outside. This stark contrast in temperatures between rain and air created a greatly uncomfortable unbalance for all those travelling outdoors. This included the already-tense heiress, who had been exposed to the less than ideal conditions for several minutes by this point.

'This is just dreadful. Couldn't he have picked a better time to go running off into the woods?' Hinata grumbled within her mind as she pushed her way through the vegetation and into a clearing. Upon being awakened by Kakashi, the Hyuga girl had demanded an explanation of the invasion's events. After a bit of prying, Hinata had learned of her teammate's brave stand against Orochimaru, as well as his departure into the forest once she and Kakashi had reunited with the elderly leader. Despite the protests of both her father and her sensei, the heiress had opted to follow after the blonde the next morning, and now she stood at the edge of an open space in the vast woods.

After stepping fully out of the foliage, she caught sight of what she had been searching for. Naruto stood in the center of the miniature plain with his back turned to the Hyuga girl. He was wearing the same clothing he had been during his consecutive encounters with Gaara and Orochimaru, those garments being a badly tattered shirt and singed shorts.

'Then again, his reason for leaving was perfectly logical. Much has happened' Hinata thought to herself as she stepped forward quietly. Unfortunately for her, the silence of her advance was shattered by the snapping of a twig underfoot, instantly alerting Naruto to her presence. The blonde audibly sighed and slowly steered himself around to face her. Once his gaze was locked on her independently, Hinata felt her fragile composure begin to waver. Naruto's face was badly marked and raw, with a large gash running down his left cheekbone and a litany of smaller cuts and bruises peppering his features. The rain had washed away much of the blood, but there were still small areas of crusted iron speckled on his face.

"I guess this is the first time you've seen my face up close since my fight with Gaara began. I'm a little beat up, as you can see" the blonde said while wiping rain droplets out of his eyes. The heiress nodded and pursed her lips while tentatively stepping forward.

"Well, you fled immediately after Orochimaru retreated. I never got the chance to get a good look at you or tend to any of your wounds. Not that I don't understand why you left" she said carefully. Naruto chewed his lip absently and stared off into the rainy sky for a moment.

"I've gotten pretty good at anticipating things. Seeing things coming. Even I had no idea just how chaotic and painful these exams would end up being. Another Jinchuuriki, a Sanin, and an invasion. Just insane. And to think most of that happened in less than a day. Life's mad sometimes" he said wearily. Hinata briefly considered reaching forward to put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but opted to avoid physical contact for the moment.

"I suppose that's a good segway into why I came out here. I...wanted to thank you for saving both myself and this village as a whole. I know that the rest of the populous likely won't see it that way, but I know it to be true, and so does my father. You've saved my life twice now. Both times at no benefit to yourself. Thank you, Naruto-kun. From the bottom of my heart" she said with a respectful bow. The blonde shook his head.

"Don't bow to me. You don't owe me a damn thing. Not even gratitude. I did what any good person would have done. Nothing special about it" he said. Hinata re-straightened her posture and smiled.

"Good people are few and far between in this world, Naruto-kun. Selflessness in particular is a rarity. You held the line against both Gaara and Orochimaru when nobody else would or could. You took no breaks, and you never faltered in the face of overwhelming disadvantage and deficit. You're a hero. To me, at least" she said sincerely. The Jinchuuriki sighed.

"I didn't fight them because I wanted to defend the village. I fought them because I was pissed. I fought to keep you and Shikamaru safe. That's all. I'm not some heroic figure. I'm just an angry kid with anger problems. It's not like my mind was entirely focused on fighting either. I hated what he said about you. I still am" he admitted. The heiress felt her blood freeze in her veins momentarily, but quickly reigned herself in.

'No ease of entry for me, I suppose. Not that I deserve it' she thought as she steeled herself as best she could for the incoming conversation.

"There's no avoiding the topic, is there?" she asked shakily, earning a shake of the head from Naruto, who's gaze had not left her face. The blonde then posed a simple question.

"Was there any truth to what he said? I don't think there was, but be honest with me" he asked, his a tad conflicted. Hinata shook her head and sighed heavily as she revisted her late-night encounter with Gaara.

"In a literal sense, absolutely not. I never considered doing such wretched things to you, but..." she replied, trailing off at the end. The Jinchuuriki motioned for her to continue with her response. Sighing again, Hinata obliged.

"My mind hasn't been in the right place since I was marked with the seal, though it's now been removed. As I said, I never considered forcing myself on you, _nothing_ of that sort, in fact, but I'd be a liar if I said I haven't had some...improper thoughts regarding you of late" she said, her face growing a bit red near the end. Naruto raised an eyebrow and gave her an odd look.

"Would you, uh, mind explaining that, then? 'Cause that's more than a little vague" he requested, the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. The Hyuga girl stared at him silently for a few moments before opting to be blunt.

"I have hormones, and the curse mark didn't help, which is odd. I like you quite a lot, perhaps a bit too much if my subconscious is telling me the truth" she said, allowing her teammate to piece together the meaning behind her statement. Once he did, his own face gained color.

"Wait, really? I don't...I mean...thanks?" he said, stumbling over himself numerous times. Hinata laughed out loud at his frazzled demeanor before taking a risk and stepping into his personal space. The sudden collapse of the distance between them made Naruot flinch.

"Oh, come now, Naruto-kun. You already knew that I desired you. Don't act surprised when I say it out loud" she joked as she put her hands on his shoulders. The Jinchuuriki's eye twitched at her teasing, but he kept calm.

"Yeah, but what you're implying is way weirder than that" he countered, his voice more a grumble than it had been before. The heiress pursed her lips and slowly removed her hands from his shoulders.

"Very true, and it wasn't right of me to think that way. I never meant any harm to you, and I guarantee that nothing ever would have happened, but still." she said awkwardly. It was Naruto's turn to laugh.

"Man, you really do go from zero to ten and back to zero again really quick. For a minute there, I thought you were gonna get all forward with me, and now you're timid" he said humorously. Hinata shrugged and met his eyes.

"Can you blame me? You aren't exactly an easy topic for me. You never have been, and I doubt you ever will be" she said honestly. Naruto's expression softened at her words. He then smiled and gripped her arms, which were down at her sides. Hinata squeaked at the contact.

"You really don't have as much to be guilty about with me as you think you do" he assured her gently. Hinata lowered her eyes to the ground and kept them there as she gathered her words to speak.

"Be that as it may, what I _do_ regret is hurting you during our match to the point that what Gaara said was even the slightest bit believable. And I know that my use of the curse mark bothers you, which it should, and I don't think I'll ever be able to-" she began. Before she could finish her sentence, Naruto silenced her by pressing his lips to hers. After a moment of bewildered hesitation, Hinata clamped her eyes shut and melted into him. Upon separating, she gave him a puzzled look.

"While I appreciate you doing what I lacked the gall to do, would you mind telling me why you felt the need to interrupt me?" she asked. Naruto laid a hand on her cheek and let it remain there.

"Because you were going to start beating yourself up. I don't like it when you do that. It's stupid. We've had our differences, and I'm ready to put those behind us" he said. The heiress raised an eyebrow.

"What exactly are you insinuating, Naruto-kun?" she asked, knowing full well what his response would be, but still wishing to hear it out loud. The blonde used his free hand to scratch the back of his head.

"I mean, I just kissed you, so I think you already know" he said. Hinata covered the hand he hand laid on her face with her own and and smiled softly. She then leaned forward and rested the crown of her head against his.

"Tell me out loud. I know I'm assertive, but I'm still a girl. I like to be told sweet things" she said. The blonde sighed and reached down to grasp the hand that still hung by her waist.

"I...think I finally feel the same way about you, Hinata. I think I realized it when Orochimaru dangled you over the arena. I wanted to kill him. I was willing to die to make him pay. I'm really new to this, so maybe I shouldn't move so quick, but I think I love you" he said quietly. Hinata turned her head to the side and gave him a short, direct peck on the lips.

"You already know how I feel, but I suppose I should return the lip service. I love you too, Naruto Uzumaki. I'm new to such things as well, so I'll help you ease into it" she said warmly. Naruto nodded and hugged her into himself. The Hyuga girl tucked her head underneath his chin and allowed herself to relax fully. Given enough time, she went limp. After a brief spell of confusion, Naruto realized she had fallen asleep.

'Great. Now I have to carry you'

* * *

Hiashi groaned and rubbed his eyes as he trudged towards his front door. It was early, the crack of dawn, and visitors at such an hour were more than a bit uncommon. As such, his irritation at the loud knocking was palpable. When he opened the door, however, his annoyance melted away completely. Standing at his doorstep with an unconscious Hinata in his arms was Naruto, who's eyes were weary and tired. After a moment of thought-gathering, the clan head spoke.

"It seems you've a valuable of mine to return" he joked as the blonde handed the girl over to her father gently. Naruto chuckled a bit at the humor, but his joviality was short-lived. Hiashi excused himself momentarily to lay Hinata down on a mat in a nearby room before returning to the door. He then promptly invited the genin inside, an invitation that was politely declined. After Naruto's polite refusal, Hiashi looked him up and down.

"You're battered. Quite severely, it seems. But then, if what Hokage-sama told me was not hyperbolic, it should be of now surprise that you still bear the shadows of combat on your face and limbs" he said. Naruto nodded and shrugged.

"I've felt worse, honestly. I'm just sore. I'll be fine in a few days. I'll probably end up with a scar on my cheek, but those can be badass" he said, a ghost of a smile creeping onto his face. Hiashi returned the smile.

"While you're here, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for saving my daughter's life for the second time. I know that you won't accept materialistic compensation, so I'd just like to say that you're welcome here any time" he said kindly. The Jinchuuriki nodded and sighed heavily.

"I might have to take you up on that tonight, actually. I don't really trust my own apartment right now. Not after so many people saw me let the fox out the way I did" he said, his voice a mix of embarrassment and exhaustion. The clan head waved his hand dismissively.

"No problem at all. Just come by when you're ready to retire for the day" he said. Naruto gave him a grateful look before turning around and waving goodbye, a gesture that Hiashi returned. Just before the blonde could leave earshot, however, the elder Hyuga was struck with a question.

"What did she seek you out to discuss?" he called out to the boy. Naruto glanced back over his shoulder at the clan head.

"We had something to sort out. Things are fine now, so you have no need to worry" he replied. Hiashi then recalled a reference to the word 'sin' his daughter had made in reference to Naruto during his match with Gaara.

"Was it anything I should be knowing about?" he asked carefully. The Jinchuuriki remained silent for a moment.

"I think you already know, if I had to guess" he said shortly before making his way out of the estate gates and out into the street. Hiashi watched him leave with a look of curious interest on his face. The village bell then rang, snapping him out of his quizzical trance. The clan head stepped back into his home and closed the door, making his way to Hinata's side in the side room once the task was complete.

'If that meant what I think it does, he and I may need to have a talk fairly soon'

* * *

**A/N: You guys asked for a longer chapter, SO I GAVE YOU ONE. I hope you all appreciated this little gift from me haha.**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	40. Scenery Change

**A/N: I appreciate all the feedback for the last chapter! Good messages. Just a warning to you all, there is only one arc left. As they say...WE'RE IN THE ENDGAME NOW**.

**Time for chapter 40**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto rubbed his eyes tiredly. Stairs had never been difficult, generally speaking, but nearly seventy-two hours of sleep deprivation had a way of lessening one's physicality, as well as any will they had to use what little remained. Most humiliatingly of all, however, was the fact that the stairs he was climbing were a mere three in number, and they weren't particularly steep. The steps to the Hyuga Estate's front door were not daunting in the least, but they certainly did exist, which was all that was required to greatly fatigue Naruto by this point.

After nearly two agonizing minutes of struggling, the Jinchuuriki reached the door and knocked. Thankfully, the wait for an answer was swift, as the door creaked open nearly immediately. To Naruto's surprise, it was not Hiashi that stood in the doorframe, but Neji instead. Finding himself a tad relieved that formality was no longer a priority, the blonde sighed and accepted the following invitation into the house.

"You look like a dead man walking. Not that I'm all that surprised. You've been through the wringer" Neji commented as he gestured towards a pair of chairs in the hall-side room he had led Naruto into upon his entry. The jinchuuriki crumpled down into one of the seats and gripped the armrests to keep himself from shaking.

"I also haven't slept in three days, so I'm kind of running on empty right now. Not that it matters. We managed to get the job done, and casualties were low from what I heard" he said with a yawn. Neji nodded and sat himself down across from the blonde. Naruto frowned as he looked over his comrade, who appeared to be quite troubled by something.

"Something on your mind?" he asked curiously. The Hyuga boy nodded and straightened his posture as a look of solemn consideration washed over his face.

"Given that you've been nomadic the past few days, I would assume you've had no contact with anybody, save for Hinata-sama. Am I correct?" he replied. Naruto nodded and motioned for Neji to elaborate.

"I suppose you should know then that your teammate, Nara-san, was captured by Suna during the invasion. I witnessed him be taken, and I was completely unable to prevent it. For that, I am sorry" the Hyuga said with a defeated sigh. The Jinchuuriki rubbed his temples and clenched his jaw. Before he could be consumed by frustration, however, his exhaustion came storming to his caveated rescue and drained him of the energy required to feel any one emotion strongly.

"Great, just great. Let me guess, he was taken after the genjutsu was cast, right?" he asked tiredly. To his surprise, Neji shook his head and ran a hand through his own hair.

"No, actually. From what Hinata-sama has told me, and based on what I saw, there is reason to believe that Temari, his former opponent and sister of Gaara, was his original captor" he explained. The Jinchuuriki frowned and rested his chin on his closed fist.

"If that's the case, that means that she had the chance to kill him but didn't follow through. Why would she do that?" he wondered aloud. Neji pursed his lips at the blonde's pondering.

"Because, Gaara wants you to follow him back to Suna. Nara-san is bait, and knowing you, you're going to _take_ that bait" he said bluntly, earning a mirthless chuckle from Naruto.

"Damn right I will. It isn't bait if you know the trap you're walking into. If he wants a rematch, I'll give him one. Difference is, now, I actually care" he said. Naruto then furrowed his eyebrows.

"Now that I think about it, Temari being the one who captured him is a little weird. Gaara and I fought for at least a half an hour, and from the sounds of it, you saw them take Shikamaru after I had left. That means she had already beaten him, and would have had no reason to let Shikamaru live. She couldn't have known that bait was needed" he pointed out. The Hyuga boy shrugged.

"I don't claim to understand the girl's thought process or her intentions, which, as you aptly identified, may in fact be quite different from Gaara's in their purest form. What I _do_ know, however, is that you need to tread carefully should you choose to pursue him into the wind country" he said. The Jinchuuriki gave him a thumbs-up and stood up to stretch.

"Yeah, I know. He was holding back almost all of his real power when we fought. I probably couldn't have beaten him, if I'm being totally blunt" he said honestly. Neji raised an eyebrow.

"I beg to differ. The power you displayed at points against Orochimaru was absolutely staggering. Even having sensed what Gaara showed me, I would favor you in a second fight" he said reassuringly. The Jinchuuriki shook his head and glanced at Neji.

"I know what he showed you. I felt it from across the village. What you saw was only a sliver of what he's really hiding. I probably still have more raw power than him at my peak, but I can't maintain that strength, and Gaara is damn near unkillable" he said, a tinge of frustration creeping into his voice. The boys then lapsed into silence as Neji sat and Naruto stood. Eventually, the blonde yawned.

"It's almost midnight. We should probably sleep if we want to do any kind of planning tomorrow" Naruto said tiredly. Neji nodded in agreement and groaned as he stood to his feet.

"I'm assuming you guys have a guest room somewhere, right?" Naruto asked, rubbing his eyes repeatedly. The now equally exhausted Hyuga gave a gesture of confirmation and began to speak, but before he could finish his infantile sentence, the sound of footsteps interrupted him.

"That won't be necessary, Neji-san" Hinata, who was now peeking through the doorframe of the side room, said. Both boys watched her intently as she delicately made her way into the room and up to the Jinchuuriki. She was wearing a set of pajamas and it was clear that she had staved of sleep against her body's wishes for this opportunity.

"As he indicated, we do have guest rooms, but they're a tad musty. Given your recent heroism, I think it's only fitting that you be given proper hospitality" she said vaguely. Naruto frowned.

"What do you mean?" he asked skeptically, both completely oblivious to her implications and far too tired to even begin searching for them. Hinata sighed and gently took hold of one of his hands.

"Follow me. I'll show you to your sleeping quarters for the night" she said as she led him out into the hallway. Neji watched the scene unfold and chuckled to himself as he began making his way to the branch house.

'One is a completely insensitive, but well-meaning social wreck while the other is a traumatized and exhausted wreck of _every_ sort. What a fine pair'

* * *

Naruto stumbled a bit as the heiress pulled him down the hall. Despite his still-extant conversational energy, his physical being was completely and utterly spent. The simple action of keeping pace with Hinata was taxing, and would likely cost him his consciousness given another minute or so. Fortunately or unfortunately, they reached their destination within thirty seconds.

"Where are we exactly?" he asked exhaustedly. Hinata fidgeted a tad before opening the door to the room she had brought him to and corralling him inside. Once they were both within the space, she closed the door and gave him an uncharacteristically shy look.

"This...is my room. You'll be sleeping here with me tonight" she said meekly, her face burning an obvious red that was somehow visible in the dark conditions. The Jinchuuriki stared at her blankly for a moment before asking a simple question.

"Why?" he inquired, his consciousness having been slightly restored by the subject matter. The Hyuga girl looked on like a lost child momentarily, but quickly found herself.

"Because, you deserve a warm, clean bed to sleep in, and because I want to hold you in my arms and vice versa" she said directly. Naruto sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"Short and to the point. Thank you for that" he said. Hinata pursed her lips and released his hand from her gentle grip.

"I understand if you wish to simply take a guest room. I won't force you to share with me" she said dejectedly. Much to her surprise, the blonde shook his head and smiled tiredly.

"I'm way too tired to make it that far without dropping dead on my way there. Besides, I don't really mind at this point. I usually get cold at night" he said reassuringly. The heiress relaxed a bit and gripped his arms to steady him.

"In that case, lets get situated. I'm not as tired as you are, but I would still prefer to get a reasonable amount of sleep" she said. Hinata then guided him another ten feet to the edge of her bed where the blonde finally collapsed and squirmed to the left side. Hinata soon joined him, positioning herself on the right side of the mattress.

"This bed isn't quite large enough for two people, so we'll have to be a bit _economical_ with our spacing" she said as she closed the gap between them and latched onto one of his arms. Naruto tensed a bit at the contact, but forced himself to calm. Despite his efforts, Hinata noticed his discomfort.

"Whether it's your fear of me taking advantage of you or just a lack of past positive interactions, I want you to know that your comfort is my priority. I won't do anything that you aren't okay with me doing. If you want, I'll touch you as little as possible" she said softly. The blonde shook his head and threaded his fingers through hers.

"No, it's nothing like that. I trust you, but...are you sure that you want to be sharing a bed with me? I cleaned up, but I'm still covered in bruises and cuts. I look even worse than I normally do" he said. Hinata giggled and propped herself up on an elbow. She then laid a hand on the side of his face and turned his head to face her.

"Personally, I find you to be quite handsome when you remember to take daily showers. Although, some of that could be attributed to your building's faulty plumbing. As for what you look like now, I actually find the minor injuries to your face and arms to be nicely rugged. You have nothing to worry about" she said kindly. The Jinchuuriki gave her an odd look.

"Oh, so you thinking I'm hot while injured wasn't a curse mark-only preference?" he asked only half-jokingly. Hinata turned red, but smirked.

"I have my odd tastes and so do you. My eyes are lacking pupils and I have an atrociously short haircut, and based on what you said in your sleep a week or two ago, those are your two favorite things about my appearance" she countered playfully. Naruto sighed.

"Two different things, Hinata. Not that I care. My point still stands. You sharing a bed with me is insulting to you. I'm kind of a loser" he said quietly as he rolled over and turned his back to the heiress. Hinata frowned and studied his body, which was shaking a bit.

"You absolutely are not. You just saved this village from near-certain destruction. You're further from that distinction than just about anybody in this sovereign nation" she said firmly. The blonde chuckled bitterly.

"Half the population would disagree with you. I can sense human emotion while I'm using the fox's Chakra, Hinata. A huge chunk of people were more afraid of me than Orochimaru. Even when I'm up against a monster, I'm not the guy people are rooting for" he said, a rare break in his voice. Hinata felt her blood boil and her heart break at the revelation. She then flattened herself against his back and hugged him from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"They're all fools. Every single one of them. They don't understand. You're of a quality that I didn't think existed in people. People like you, truly selfless and forgiving beacons, are diamonds in the endless rough of society. Never forget that. _Never_" she whispered in his ear lovingly. The Jinchuuriki gently separated Hinata's hands, which were clasped at his waist, and rolled over to face her.

"If somebody had told me that you would make me cry a little when Team Seven was formed, I would have believed them. But, not because I expected you to touch me like this" he sniffled as he squeezed his eyes shut. The heiress wiped a few tears from his cheeks and caressed his face gently.

"And if somebody had told me that I would come to feel strongly about you, I would have believed them. But not because I expected to love you more than I love even myself" she replied in kind, closing the distance between their mouths as she spoke. A split-second later, Hinata delicately fitted her lips to his and closed her eyes. The Jinchuuriki flinched initially, but quickly relented and returned the gesture. Roughly fifteen seconds later, the heiress removed her mouth from his and kissed the Jinchuuriki's forehead.

"You're precious to me, and I'll protect you. Maybe I don't have the strength to back it all up, but I'll make the promise regardless. As long as I have breath in my body, you'll know just how much you're loved. You'll be safe and sound. I swear it" she said sincerely. Naruto then opened his eyes and gazed at the heiress.

"What did I do to deserve you?" he asked. Hinata smiled and slid her way on top of him with her chest aligned against his own.

"You gave me endless chances for redemption. You never left me out in the cold, and you saved my life numerous times. Beyond that, I really do love who you are as a person. A more-intelligent-than-advertised comedian with a strong will just so happens to be my type" she replied. Naruto embraced the girl lying on top of him and allowed a smile to creep onto his face.

"All good reasons I guess. Now, I think I'm ready to sleep. You might want to move" he said. To his surprise, the Hyuga girl shook her head and let out a contented sigh.

"No, I like this position just fine. This way, I can be lulled to sleep by the sound of your heartbeat. Both by its rhythm, and by the knowledge that you're still right here with me, alive and well" she said through a yawn. The blonde shifted a bit and ran a hand through her hair.

"Goodnight, Hinata. I...love you" he whispered, sure of his feelings, but unsure of his words as he uttered the phrase for the first time. The heiress rested her ear over his heart and took hold of one of his hands.

"Goodnight, Naruto-kun. I love you too. More than you'll ever understand"

* * *

Shikamaru's eyes creaked open slowly at the stimulus of an antagonizing light. His head hurt, his body ached, and now his eyes were burning. In total, he felt absolutely abysmal. As he straightened his posture to properly awaken, he noticed something strange. He was not seated on the ground, but in a surprisingly comfortable chair of some kind.

'What...where…?" he wondered to himself in confusion. While he pondered the oddity of his situation and his frustrating lack of knowledge regarding his location, the sound of someone clearing their throat became audible. The shadow user turned his attention directly in front of him, freezing at what he saw.

"Finally awake. Took you long enough. I was just about to take another water break" Gaara said with a smirk. Shikamaru scowled and attempted to stand from his chair, but stopped when the Jinchuuriki stood up first. The Nara begrudgingly sunk back into his seat and pursed his lips. Gaara laughed out loud at the short exchange of bravados.

"I suppose the rumors of your intelligence aren't false after all. You have no power here. None whatsoever" he said, a tone of menace clinging to the underbelly of his words. Shikamaru tightly gripped the armrests of his chair.

"Speaking of which, where is 'here', exactly?" he asked curiously. The redhead reached down and picked up the lantern at his feet. He then held it out to his left to illuminate that side of the room, revealing the insignia of the Village Hidden in the Sand imprinted in the wall.

"Sunagakure. And before you ask the obvious question, you're a hostage. Plain and simple. Naruto and I were unable to finish our little scuffle before we were rudely interrupted. I don't intend to let him escape with anything resembling a draw" he explained. The lazy genin sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Well, he's definitely going to come after me, so you'll get your wish" he said tiredly. Gaara nodded and began to file his nails with a kunai. After a few moments of silence, Shikamaru spoke once more.

"So, why am I not tied up? Hostages usually are" he asked skeptically. The Jinchuuriki ceased treating his nails and shrugged.

"I have no reason to keep you imprisoned while you're here. You have no way to escape regardless. Perhaps, you may even enjoy your stay in this estate should you forget why exactly you're here" he replied. Shikamaru frowned at the response and glanced back over his shoulder, where a door lay.

"What would stop me from just slipping out at night and ditching this place?" he countered. Gaara gave him a dark smirk and tossed his kunai just to the left of the genin's neck, lodging it in the wooden structural support of his chair.

"I never sleep, Shikamaru. The night is _my_ domain, not yours. You may manipulate shadows, my friend, but I live in them. You'll find yourself buried and silenced should you try exit under the cover of darkness" he said. Shikamaru flinched as the cold of the blade radiated into the side of his neck.

"So, in other words, I'm trapped in this building" he said. Gaara nodded his head in confirmation and cracked his neck.

"Yes, you are. The most spacious prison cell you'll ever have the misfortune of being trapped within" he replied. The shadow user lapsed into contemplative silence at his words. After nearly two minutes of mental gymnastics, he came upon a piece of perplexing information.

"Maybe I hit my head a bit too hard, but I remember Temari being the one who knocked me out. You and Naruto were still at each other's throats when that happened. There's no way she could have known that you two wouldn't get to finish your fight" he pointed out.

"Perceptive. Your memory serves you well, Shikamaru. Yes, it is unusual, and if you want an answer as to _why_ she did what she did, I don't have one, although I do have my hunches. It is, however, clear to me that she only made the suggestion to take you back to Suna as a hostage in order to play to my agenda" he Gaara replied. The Nara twitched a bit, a miniscule movement that was easily detected by the Jinchuuriki.

"I smell discomfort. You dislike uncertainty, especially pertaining to yourself. Your current situation is defined by its uncertainty and lack of clarity. Will I grow impatient and abruptly kill you? Will Temari reveal herself to be your benefactor, or will she simply be an instrument of your torture? So many questions, so few answers" Gaara said ominously. Shikamaru shuddered a bit as his new, if temporary, overlord stood up from his seat and headed for the door.

"This is your room of residence for the time being. There's a bed in the rightmost corner" he said as he stepped out into the hallway. Before he could fully exit, Gaara glanced back over his shoulder.

"If you wish to solve a bit of the mystery that haunts you, Temari is awake. Her room is three doors down from yours on the left side" he said. Shikamaru lumbered his way over to the corner bed and fell down onto the mattress.

"I'll pass" he yawned as he turned his back to the Jinchuuriki and faced the wall of his new prison. Gaara barked a short laugh and began to walk down the hall.

"A wise choice"

* * *

**A/N: Well, now that the world is ending, I have the time to make these chapters a tad longer. This one played with a few different tones, so I hope it worked out well.**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	41. Late Lunches and Battle Plans

**A/N: Well, it's time to begin the final part of this fic in earnest. I've been looking forward to this part of the story. I get to write my favorite character**

**Time for chapter 41**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Generally speaking, morning was indicated by the streaming of sunlight through one's window. The reassuring warmth of a new day. The comfort of a set of clean and personally chosen bed sheets that fit your preferences. These were givens. Things that a person could always look forward to. As it turned out, such luxuries were quite assuredly _not _afforded to hostages. Shikamaru Nara instead awoke to the same darkness that had coerced him into repose the previous night.

Properly speaking, the shadow user had no clue what time his conversation with Gaara had occurred. For all he knew, it had happened in broad daylight that was only shielded by the sandstone walls of his confinement. Despite the uncertainty, Shikamaru groaned and threw his legs over the side of his bed, firmly planting them on the floor before tentatively standing to his feet. To his relief, his balance was sound enough for him to remain upright with no detectable issues. After stumbling around in the dark for a minute or two, Shikamaru discovered the handle to the room's door.

Upon entering the hall, the Nara's eyes were assaulted by light, causing him to flinch and back up the wall. Recovery took a few moments, but came fairly quickly. With his bearings regained and his vision restored, Shikamaru began his trek down the corridor, crossing numerous people who appeared to be service workers along the way. The looks they gave him were telling. They knew exactly why he was in Sunagakure. Each and every time the genin attempted to make eye contact, the person in question would avert and scurry away.

'I'm an alien to them. Just a strange tumor. I disrupt their daily routine. I'm not supposed to be here' he thought to himself as he approached a room that was located at the end of the hallway. Throughout the walk, previously nonexistent aches and pains had made themselves known to the shadow user, most of them stinging rather than throbbing. It took no more than a brief consideration for Shikamaru to solve the mystery of their origin.

'So, they didn't patch me up after they brought me here. I guess I can't complain. Gaara gave me a bed' he sighed internally. At that thought, he entered the room he had been plodding towards. In stark contrast to the populous state of the hallway, the space he now stood within was only occupied by two people. Fortunately and unfortunately, they made up roughly sixty-six percent of the total number of people he knew the names of in Suna.

Sitting at a small table situated a tad off to the left of the room's center was Temari and Kankuro, who were both eating. The puppeteer was chewing on a piece of sharp cheddar while his sister bit into a nugget of dried meat. If either ninja had noticed his entrance yet, neither one of them had chosen to let him know. For an uncomfortably long stretch of time, Shikamaru stood in place watching them eat, well aware of the game being played. They were trying to force him out of the room by sheer social pressure.

'Alright, this is getting old' Shikamaru thought to himself as he took a step forward and cleared his raw throat. The noise elicited the subtlest of shifts from both siblings. Taking the cue to speak, the shadow user posed a simple question.

"It's either seven in the morning or three in the afternoon right now, and I want to know which it is. Would one of you mind answering clarifying for me?" he asked bluntly. Kankuro glanced up at a clock that hung from the left wall.

"It's two-thirty. Good guess, though" he replied, his voice holding an undertone of defeat at the Nara's continued presence in the room. Shikamaru nodded and made his way over to the table, which, as he discovered, only had two seats, both of which were occupied. Seemingly out of hospitality, but more born of discomfort, Kankuro stood and walked away from the table to silently offer the seat to Shikamaru.

Despite the unexpected and odd nature of the offer, the Nara accepted and sat himself down. The puppeteer then wordlessly exited the dining room, casting a look of something resembling sympathy Shikamaru's way as he disappeared into the hall. He had also unintentionally left the bag of cheese he had been eating from sitting at his chair, prompting the shadow user to help himself to the bland cheddar.

"You look like shit" Temari said matter-of-factly after a lapse of silence. Shikamaru snorted and gave her a sideways glance while he munched on the cheese.

"You've only got yourself to blame if you're disappointed. You're the one who cut me up and knocked me out" he pointed out boredly. The fan wielder shrugged and tossed aside her empty bag of salted meat.

"Yeah, but you could have at least taken a shower before coming out here" she countered. The shadow user popped another piece of cheese into his mouth and shook his head.

"You say that like I know my way around. I would have asked for directions, but all of your serfs seem terrified of me" he said as he chewed. Temari scowled.

"They aren't serfs. We pay them an hourly wage for their services" she snapped irritatedly. Shikamaru chuckled a bit at her indignation and opted to keep pressing.

"Oh really? Are you sure you didn't kidnap them like you kidnapped me? Or am I going to be paid too?" he asked jokingly. Temari snatched away his bag of cheese in response to his remark, taking it just out of his grasp.

"Your payment is the fact that you're still breathing right now. Don't take it for granted either. Get on my nerves and that might change" she said threateningly. The menacing remark did more to irritate the shadow user than it did make him fearful.

"Do it then. Finish the job you couldn't wrap up last time" he challenged, standing up from his seat, the shadow of a long-suppressed temper becoming visible for the first time in many months. The fan wielder was briefly taken aback by the outburst, but soon rose to match him.

"What's gotten into you? I never took you for an ungrateful brat, but I guess I've never been great at reading people" she said scathingly. The Konoha genin gave her a bored look.

"And why should I be grateful to you? Nothing about my current situation is enviable. Nothing. Alive or not, this isn't something I'm ever going to thank you for, if that's what you're waiting for me to do" he replied sharply. Temari narrowed her eyes.

"A person saves your life and this is how you treat them?" she asked angrily. The shadow user smirked internally. It had taken virtually no prompting for the words he had been fishing for to present themselves.

"Have you ever considered that maybe I would have rather you killed me in that dark hallway? And while we're on the topic, why don't you explain to me why the hell you brought me back here? By Gaara's own admission, this wasn't his idea" he demanded. The sand kunoichi, for the most miniscule of moments, hesitated.

"Isn't it obvious? You're a hostage. You're only here to be bait" she responded a tad too confidently. Shikamaru shook his head.

"No, that can't be it. Our fight only lasted around fifteen minutes, and according to Gaara, he and Naruto fought for triple that time in total. Naruto hadn't run off yet when you drugged me. What was the real reason?" he pressed. Temari remained silent and stagnant for a moment before turning her back to the shadow user and making her way to the nearby kitchen.

"My reasoning is none of your concern. It won't matter in the end. Your capture has accomplished all the goals it was supposed to. Take pride in that" she replied a bit less aggressively. Shikamaru watched her rummage through the cupboard for several seconds before she glanced back at him again.

"Want a late lunch?" she asked suddenly. The shadow user opened his mouth to firmly decline, but his stomach betrayed him before he could speak. After pushing down his embarrassment, the genin sighed.

"Why the offer?" he asked in response. Temari smirked and launched a knife in his direction, grazing the side of his face and lodging the blade into the far wall.

"I'm an awful cook and an even worse waitress. Think of it as your punishment for mouthing off to me. That and the little trench I just carved in your face" she said smugly. Shikamaru glanced at the small stream of blood dripping down his cheek and twitched.

"Fine then. Make me puke"

* * *

Hiruzen straightened his posture as Naruto entered his office with Hinata close behind him. The elderly kage silently chuckled at the presence of the heiress. Based upon the look she was wearing on her face, she had argued her way into accompanying Naruto. After both children had situated themselves on chairs across from the Hokage's desk, Hiruzen cleared his throat.

"I requested Naruto specifically. I don't recall summoning you, Ms. Hyuga" he said in a falsely menacing tone. Hinata shrugged and maintained eye contact with her leader.

"As it stands, his business is my business. If you can tell him, you can tell me" she replied calmly, earning a smile and a nod of approval from Hiruzen.

"I'm glad to hear it. Just a test. Now, on to why you're both here. As is common knowledge by this point, your teammate was captured during the Invasion. The identity of his captor is currently under investigation" he began, stopping when Naruto raised a hand.

"He was captured by the girl he beat in his finals match. Her name is Temari" he clarified. The Hokage leaned forward over his desk.

"Tell me all that you know" he ordered. The Jinchuuriki took a deep breath and pulled forth all of his memories regarding Shikamaru and the Chunin exam.

"After I left to fight Orochimaru, Neji stepped in and took my place to keep Gaara occupied. After a little while, the Sand Village decided to retreat. According to Neji, Temari showed up and called Gaara off to leave Konoha. She was carrying Shikamaru's unconscious body" he explained, frowning throughout.

"I also came across the site of a stalking in the lower hallway system of the Arena, which is where Nara-san went to escort my sister out of the premises. It stands to reason that Temari subdued and captured him" Hinata chimed in. Hiruzen nodded and considered the presented information.

"If I'm hearing this correctly, then it sounds like this Temari appeared with Shikamaru's body after your battle with Gaara had concluded, Naruto. That complicates things quite a bit, as it creates a fine line between her motivations and Gaara's. But that's neither here nor there. The point is, we know who captured Shikamaru and likely where he is as well" he said. He then reached into his desk and produced a scroll. After looking over its contents for a moment, he resealed it and sighed.

"We're a tad short-staffed at the moment. Guy and Asuma are out of the village already to discuss the Invasion and what it means with the daimyo on my behalf, and Kakashi is going to be more or less bedridden for the next month. As such, that leaves Kurenai Yuhi to lead you and two others to the Sand Village" he said. Naruto nodded.

"Fine with me. I do have a few conditions, though" he said. The Hokage raised an eyebrow and motioned for the blonde to continue.

"When we arrive, leave Gaara to me. Let Kurenai handle crowd control if things bleed out into the village. If that doesn't happen, her job is to keep the other two safe" he said firmly. Hiruzen frowned.

"And why should I agree to that? Kurenai is a perfectly capable kunoichi, and likely a stronger one than you" he said. Naruto tilted his head to one side.

"I never said she wasn't competent, but you and I both know the second part isn't true, not anymore. Her chances against Gaara are slim to none. I can beat him, I know I can" he said confidently. The elderly kage stroked his chin and contemplated for a moment.

"Make a compelling argument. Explain your specific reasoning for believing this. Convince me, and I'll write out a mission description that matches your request" he said. The Jinchuuriki took a deep breath and began stating his case.

"Kurenai is probably more skilled than I am in literally every way, in fact, she definitely is. The reason I don't really think that matters is because I really doubt that she can avoid just being overwhelmed by Gaara's power. She wouldn't get the chance to make her skill and experience mean anything. She'd be killed too quickly. The only way I was able to get anything going against Gaara was by refusing to let him out of a distance where I could punch him" he began, accepting the offer of a water canister from Hinata.

"Let's say she somehow finds a way to survive the first wave of the onslaught. Would you trust her, no, _anybody_ who doesn't have the ability to heal wounds passively to stay alive long enough to find an approach that works?" he asked. Hiruzen pursed his lips and wrung his hands.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but your argument is essentially that when faced with a large enough power deficit, skill becomes a nonfactor?" he questioned. Naruto nodded and awaited a response.

"Just how powerful is this Gaara, Naruto?" Hiruzen asked skeptically. The blonde sighed heavily and glanced down at his still-bruised fists.

"To be honest, I don't know. What I do know is that he wasn't really trying all that hard when he fought me. He showed a little bit more of what he can do to Neji, but that was just posturing. I'm pretty sure that I can exceed him in terms of raw power, but that's only enough to give me the chance to plan. Kakashi-sensei and Guy could kill him, but that's irrelevant right now" he replied. The Hokage remained silent for a few seconds before relenting.

"Alright, fine. I'll grant your wish just this once. Gaara is now your responsibility. I will however, be giving Kurenai permission to step in and take over should you be at risk of dying" he said. Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but stopped when Hinata shot him a sharp look.

"Take what you can get. Don't push your luck, Naruto-kun" she said seriously. Naruto begrudgingly nodded and stood up from his chair.

"I want Neji and Hinata as my teammates on this mission" he said. The Hokage chuckled and gave him a thumbs up.

"Already written. It was never going to be anybody else" he said, earning a grin from the blonde. The old man then shooed the pair out of his office while he prepared the particulars of the perilous assignment.

The countdown had begun. Soon, a Jinchuuriki would fall.

* * *

**A/N: From here on out, these chapters are going to be split between Shikamaru's endeavors in Suna as a hostage and the rest of the cast, so be ready for that. Should be fun. Tell me what you thought :)**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	42. A Sip of Clarity

**A/N: Hey fellas. Since we're all stuck indoors for the time being, I'll try to update this a bit more frequently. We don't have long to go before this one wraps up, so let's get to that finish line**

**Time for chapter 42**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Shikamaru rubbed his eyes as he trudged through the hallway he had now become quite familiar with. It had been three days since his first awakening in the Wind Country, and while it had not been an enjoyable seventy-two hours, the genin had quit fretting about his situation. It was what it was, and there was no way to change it. Much of the reason for Shikamaru's relative tranquility was attributable to the routine and domain he had created for himself. He snapped awake at six every morning, left the room for breakfast at seven, returned to his room by eight, and waited for noon. Once the aforementioned hour arrived, he would eat lunch.

After his meal, the shadow user would take a walk around the estate, which was even larger than he had imagined was possible for a single building. Once the walk concluded, he would return to his sleeping quarters once again and turn in for the night. The benefits to this process were numerous, but the greatest boon provided by his minimalist approach to navigation was that he no longer ran the risk of interacting with Gaara or Temari for long. Kankuro had proven to be merely apathetic to his presence, making him approachable in a way.

Shikamaru's current destination was the dining hall, where he had been served an awful lunch by Temari on his first full day in Suna. It was nearly two in the morning, which, as the Nara had discovered, meant nothing when it came to the availability of food. The most attractive perk of eating at such an hour was the lack of service workers in the hallways. No odd looks, no whispers, and moving masses of people. Silent, uninterrupted, and as close to tranquil as a hostage like himself could hope for. Unfortunately for him, his relative calm was greatly disrupted when he stepped into the dining room.

"I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you're feeling hungry rather than foolishly brave" Gaara, who was sitting at the dining table said with a slight chuckle. The shadow user froze in place, weighing his options momentarily. After a brief internal debate, he opted to continue as he would have.

"Bravery and Shikamaru Nara are in no way synonymous" he replied tiredly as he made his way into the kitchen. Well aware that he was being closely watched, the genin quickly threw together a sandwich and sat down across from the Jinchuuriki at the table.

"What're you out here for? I get that you don't sleep, but you walked in and ate lunch right after I left at noon" he asked skeptically. The redhead reached down to the base of his chair and grabbed something, setting it on the table. It was a bottle of alcohol. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you a bit young to be drinking?" he asked. Gaara shrugged and poured himself a glass of the strong liquid.

"Legally, yes, but who's going to stop me? My parents are rotting in the grave and I'm the most powerful thing in this village. Besides, I hardly ever become intoxicated. My body filters and handles alcohol quite nicely. Would you like to test your tolerance as well?" he replied. The shadow user shook his head and took a bite of his sandwich.

"I'll probably take you up on that at some point, considering I might be dead in less than two weeks, but not tonight. I'd rather not be hungover in the morning" he said through a yawn. Gaara nodded and down his shot glass.

"Logical, I suppose. Although, I'd be fairly surprised if you died here if I don't kill you. That option _is_ still on the table, though" he said. Shikamaru intently chewed his food and frowned at the statement.

"Your sister might end me too. She already sliced me open once. Wouldn't shock me if she just slit my throat in the dark one of these nights" he said tiredly. The sand shinobi leaned back in his chair and stretched.

"No, Temari wouldn't and won't take your life. Anything is possible, I suppose, but such a thing would surprise even me" he said, further draining the bottle into his glass as he spoke.

"She respects you far too much to kill you in such a manner" he continued. Shikamaru snorted and tossed his paper plate into a nearby garbage.

"Bullshit. That demoness doesn't have a scrap of respect for me" he retorted. Gaara stifled a laugh and took a sip of his drink.

"That girl hates to lose, but she never hates those she's lost to. Not even you. Especially so in your case, actually. You outwilled her. You broke her with pace and pressure. You abandoned your smarts when you realized they would not and could not win you the fight. That takes grit, and above all else, Temari regards grit highly. Her reasoning is likely a tad similar to why I toyed with Naruto while he built up the nerve to unleash the fox" he said. The Shadow user glanced at his jailor.

"Oh really? Are you sure you didn't just feel like torturing him?" he asked bluntly. Gaara laughed mirthlessly, causing Shikamaru to shudder.

"That was certainly part of it. I did enjoy the process of working him up. So many insecurities and internalized pains to poke and prod at. It was a buffet of attractive options" he said, seeming to revel in the past conflict. The konoha genin scowled.

"You're a sociopath" he muttered. Despite his fairly hushed tone of voice, the jinchuuriki heard him and downed another glass of alcohol.

"I'll say the same thing to you that I said to Naruto. _Tell me something I don't already know_" he said, locking eyes with his hostage for the first time since his arrival at the table. To his surprise, Shikamaru did not falter or avert his gaze.

"You're a lot of things, Gaara. You're a sadist, a complete and utter sociopath, and I'm pretty sure you're a murderer, but I don't really buy that you're just a naturally evil person. Not that you aren't terrible, you are, but you're loving this a little too much for it to be believable" he said calmly. Gaara, for the briefest of moments, seemed to show signs of discomfort. His eyes narrowed, his body tensed just enough to be detectable, and his face twitched. The weakness disappeared as quickly as it had manifested, being immediately replaced by a humorous smirk.

"About time you showed some backbone. Poking a bear isn't something I'd advise, but suit yourself" he replied, turning back to the bottle of alcohol on the table. For several minutes, neither of them spoke. The company was not enjoyed by either, but it was tolerated. Eventually, and surprisingly, the quiet game of chicken was won by Shikamaru.

"You know, it really is fascinating that you clearly fear me, but still choose to retaliate. Naruto was too stupid to know what to be afraid of, but you, you understand what you're looking at. Yet here you are, pushing my buttons" Gaara said, ending the silent stretch. The Nara shrugged.

"Naruto's actually a hell of a lot smarter than he's given credit for, as a fighter, anyways. The reason he wasn't shaken by you until you started attacking him personally is because he was and still is under the impression that he can kill you" he said in response. The Jinchuuriki rested his face on his fist.

"That still doesn't explain your lack of caring for your own safety" he pointed out, a hint of irritation creeping into his voice. Shikamaru wiped away the remnants of his sandwich from the corner of his mouth.

"Naruto has a few reasons to care about his own skin. If he kicks the bucket, Hinata probably follows him to the grave within the same week, and he knows it. He also has a goal or two. I don't have a person that I need to preserve myself for, or any long-term dreams. Dying here wouldn't be ideal, but I also know that I have no way to stop it, unlike somebody as powerful as Naruto. Fearing the potentially inevitable is pointless" he said flatly, as he stood up and plodded into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. Upon his return to the table, he decided to push his luck further.

"You told me a few days ago that I don't like uncertainty, and you're right. Now, let me make an educated guess about _you_. You dislike people who don't fear you. It shakes your ego" he said, making eye contact with the redhead for effect. Gaara stared at him silently for a few moments before sighing uncharacteristically.

"Yes, but not for the reason you stated. I hate several things, one of which being stupidity. There aren't many beings currently living that hold an advantage over me, and unless you're one of them, respect those superior to you" he said. Shikamaru chuckled.

"I must be a puzzle for you then. You said it yourself, I'm not stupid, and I really don't fear you any more than I fear my own mother" he replied, well aware of the ridiculously fine line he was walking. The redhead broke out into a low chuckle, covering the left side of his face with his palm and allowing a finger to stray over his uncovered eye. The laugh soon devolved into a menacing growl.

"You know, you remind me a great deal of somebody I used to know. Intelligent like you, but even more of an instigator" Gaara said as he removed his hand from his face, revealing that one of his eyes was now golden in color. Shikamaru shuddered.

'Either the alcohol is getting to him or I just pissed him off a little too much. Probably both' he thought to himself tensely. Against his better judgement, and if direct defiance to the shaking in his knees, he pressed further.

"Sounds like a story to me. Mind telling it? We literally have all night" he asked. Gaara's mouth twitched, briefly revealing a fang.

"Since you've been so irritatingly talkative, I'll return the favor. There will be _no_ censorship" he said. Shikamaru nodded and motioned for the Jinchuuriki to begin his tale. The redhead then straightened his posture.

"Something that might surprise you is the fact that I actually did attend this village's Ninja Academy. I graduated quite some time ago, but I spent four years in it from age four to eight. As you could imagine, much of my time was spent grossly outperforming my classmates. I was widely revered and avoided by my fellow students. Mostly because they knew what would happen if they angered me. I had something of a temper back then" he began, seeming to reminisce a bit as he spoke. The shadow user studied the Jinchuuriki as he listened and chewed his lip absently.

'You've still got a temper. You just hide it better than most' he thought to himself. Before he could think any further, Gaara began to speak once again.

"There was one person, however, that challenged that norm and continually interacted with me. Routine greetings, a lack of respect for my personal space, and a sharp tongue. Things I despise, and yet, over time, I grew accustomed to them. She even found a way to tame my sand, which is semi-sentient" he continued, earning a chuckle from Shikamaru.

"Let me guess, you fell madly in love with this chick and then she rolled over and died?" he asked jokingly. Gaara took a swig directly from his bottle of alcohol and shook his head.

"You're half right, but let me finish. We'll get to that part, don't you worry. As I said, she found a variety of ways to irritate me. From the taming of my sand to her dauntless approach to speaking with me. She was an insect compared to me, but still refused to act subordinated to me in any way. This went on for around six months, with this girl treating me as though we were equal, seeking me out day in and day out" he said, stopping abruptly.

The shadow user frowned as Gaara seemed to struggle with something. His face remained unchanged, but his silence told a story of turmoil. After another ten seconds of uncharacteristic and foreign silence, the Jinchuuriki continued.

"Once those six months had passed, she disappeared. Gone with the wind, it seemed. For the next three weeks, the instructor would skip her name when taking attendance. On the final day of the third week, I attended a public execution with my father. The man was never one for parenting, but he did seem to enjoy taking me to political events and such, executions obviously included" he said, his voice taking on a new tone. Shikamaru felt his blood run cold as he easily deciphered the remainder of the story.

'Is that...grief I hear?' he thought to himself in disbelief as he finished the last of his water. His theory was soon given more weight as Gaara lowered his eyes to his shot glass, which he soon began to fiddle with.

"Much to my shock, the very first person up to the gallows was the very same girl that had disappeared. For the first and only time, I found myself struggling to keep my eyes on the convicted as a rope was tied around her neck. Just before the hangman could kick her off the edge of the platform, she caught sight of me. Instead of looking distressed or disheartened, she gave me the same friendly smile she always gave me" he said, inadvertently shattering his shot glass as his body tensed. The Nara looked on in shock as Gaara concluded the horrific tale.

"She was then kicked down from the platform. Unfortunately for her, her neck didn't break immediately, leaving her to suffocate to death as the rope strangled her. She hung there for nearly a full minute, struggling and twitching all the while. Just as it looked like the oxygen deprivation was about to kill her, she turned to me again and mouthed a few words. To this day, I haven't been able to decipher them. Once her mouth stopped moving, so did the rest of her body. She was dead" the Jinchuuriki said as he picked shards of broken glass out of his palm. Shikamaru swallowed and shook his head.

"Dear god" he muttered. Gaara gazed down at his bloody palm and chuckled bitterly to himself, the laughter born less of humor than it was of long-suppressed pain.

"As it turns out, her execution and arrest had been ordered by my father once he had caught wind of her involvement with me. He claimed that she was a burden to me and nothing more. I despise him for making such a call on my behalf. If anybody was going to kill that girl for her indiscretions, it should have been _me_. More than that, though, I found myself pained by her passing for reasons I still don't fully understand. That night, deep in the desert, I made a pact with myself and the demon inside of me" he said, pushing up the left side of his bangs with his injured hand as he spoke to clear a visual path for the kanji for love.

"For risk of emotional turmoil, love only myself, live only for myself, and above all else, _care_ for myself only. To give myself a permanent reminder of this oath, I carved the symbol for love into my forehead. Every time I look in the mirror, my mindset is made fresh and new" he explained, his forehead now stained with the blood from his hand. Shikamaru pursed his lips and gathered his thoughts for a moment or two.

"What was her name?" he asked. Gaara glanced at him out of the corner of his eye suspiciously, but eventually relented.

"Matsuri" he replied, his tone making it clear that he had said all he was willing to say on the topic. The shadow user nodded and looked at his empty water glass. He then reached across the table and took Gaara's bottle of alcohol, pouring himself a small glass of it and setting the container down. The Jinchuuriki raised an eyebrow.

"Finally feeling down enough to drink?" he asked only half-jokingly. The konoha genin replied by downing the liquid and wiping his mouth of the excess.

"Yeah, but don't be too proud of yourself. It has more to do with me being here at all than your story. While we're on the topic of drinking, though, why do you do it? The saying goes, 'some drink to remember, but most drink to forget'. Which are you?" he asked. Gaara glanced down at his wounded hand once more.

"Neither. I drink to _understand_"

* * *

Hinata tapped her foot impatiently as she awaited the return of Naruto. She and her teammate had finally been given a date for their departure to Suna, roughly two weeks, and the blonde had been training at an absolutely hellacious pace since the revelation. The heiress had been preparing diligently as well, but her rate of conditioning utterly paled to her partner's. The announcement of the departure date had come three days ago, and by HInata's estimation, Naruto had spent eighteen hours per day training since.

As a result of this, the Hyuga girl had seen very little of the Jinchuuriki recently. The remaining six hours of his days tended to be spent sleeping, leaving little time for interaction between the two. To remedy this issue, at least on that day, Hinata had opted to wait for him outside his front door.

'This really is selfish of me, but oh well. A girl has the right to self-indulgence once in a while' she thought to herself with a sigh. After a short five minute wait, her person of interest trudged his way up the stairs. Naruto, looking quite tired, made his way onto the floor of his apartment slowly, spotting Hinata after a moment.

"Oh, Hinata. How are ya?" he asked somewhat raggedly with a smile. The heiress returned the smile and waved.

"Quite well, a bit sore, but that's to be expected. I must say, you look quite labored, Naruto-kun" she replied jovially. Naruto sighed and nodded as he slowly made his way to the door. The heiress politely opened it for him and allowed him to enter before sliding in and shutting it behind her. The blonde meandered over to his kitchen table and sat down, prompting his teammate to follow him.

"Want me to make us some food? I've probably got just enough energy to do it" he joked tiredly. Hinata shook her head and stopped walking in front of the seated blonde. She then stepped into his personal space.

"No, you've worked hard enough already. Let me do the rest of the work, 'kay?" she said. Before the Jinchuuriki could respond, the heiress set herself down on his lap and ran a hand through his hair.

"What are you-" he began, clearly uncomfortable with the sudden development. Hinata silenced him with her mouth before he could finish the sentence, planting a soft kiss on his lips.

"Let me help you unwind a bit, Naruto-kun. You're _very_ tense" she purred suggestively. Finding himself both too tired to resist and not entirely opposed to what his now-girlfriend was doing, Naruto shrugged.

"I'm really sweaty, though" he pointed out. The heiress gave him a bored look and licked her lips.

"In my current mood, I'd take you in any state as long as you're alive" she said before pressing her mouth to his a bit more forcefully. After nearly sixty seconds, Hinata pulled their lips apart, a trail of saliva keeping them connected still.

"That got a tad messy, didn't it? Bliss comes at a price I suppose" she said, tracing his jaw line with her index finger as she spoke. Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"This is your way of saying you missed me, isn't it?" he asked with a chuckle. The Hyuga girl smiled sweetly and nodded.

"Yes, yes it is. I know that I'm being self centered right now, but I need this. And...no worries. Things will escalate no further than they already have" she assured him, eliciting a sigh of relief from the Jinchuuriki. Hinata then cupped his face.

"Shall we continue?" she asked. Naruto nodded, cuing the heiress to lean down towards his mouth again.

"Should...I come back later?"

Both genin froze at the sound of the voice, turning their heads slowly in the direction of the door from which the question had come. Standing in the doorway, looking both amused and incredibly uncomfortable was Hiashi. The clan head was a bag of something, which he then set down to the left of the doormat.

"Father, you... could have at least knocked" Hinata squeaked, her hands still on either side of her teammates face. Hiashi stifled a laugh.

"You're right, it _is_ common courtesy, but in my defense, I never could have known that...whatever this is would be going on inside. In the _kitchen_ no less" he said, clearly finding great humor in his daughter's even greater discomfort. Naruto then raised his hand.

"Uh, Hyuuga-sama, just so you know, this was _not_ my idea" he said nervously. The clan head shrugged.

"Fair enough, but you certainly don't seem opposed to my daughter using you as a chair" he replied. The blonde turned bright red.

"Well...I'm...not…?" he stuttered, mentally kicking himself the moment the statement left his mouth. To his shock and relief, Hiashi laughed out loud.

"Good answer. Now, I brought you some bath salts for your inevitable aches and pains. I'm leaving them at the front door" he said as he turned to leave the unbelievable awkward scene. Before exiting, he turned back around once more.

"Should I find evidence that anything beyond what you're doing now occurs before the two of you marry, I'll personally see to it that your manhood is removed" he said calmly before closing the door. The moment he was gone, both ninja released the oxygen they had been holding in their lungs. The Hyuga girl then blushed heavily.

"Would it be okay if I just cuddled you for a bit? I get the feeling that he's either right outside that door or that he'll send Neji to spy" she asked awkwardly. Naruto nodded and stood up as the heiress got off of him. The pair then made their way over to the couch and leaned against one another.

"Lets just nap. That way, they won't have anything to hold against us. I'd rather not have my dick ripped off" the Jinchuuriki said while closing his eyes. Hinata replied by tucking her head underneath his chin.

"Yes, that sounds sensible" she said through a yawn. Soon enough, she was snoring softly. The Jinchuuriki smiled at the sight of her sleeping face.

'You're such a weird spectrum. One minute, you're a force of nature, and the next you're asleep. Kinda like a kitten, actually' he thought to himself, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear at the thought.

'Then again, you did say you loved kittens, so maybe it's intentional'

* * *

**A/N: Two very different scenes, and the second one was just for fun. The first one, though, that's one I actually put a ton of thought into. Hope you all enjoyed it :)**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review**


	43. A Selfish Reason, a Selfless Cause

**A/N: Quarantine is fun, isn't it? Just a whole bunch of free time, and nobody really knows what to do with it. In my case, I'm going to write. **

**Time or chapter 43**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Temari's left eye twitched as she sat with folded arms. Days had been slow of late, but none could compare to her current situation. It was Tuesday, six days after the arrival of Shikamaru, and it was the first day on which Gaara was not present in the estate. The Jinchuuriki had opted to take a 'leave of absence' for 'anywhere from two to forty-eight hours'. Under normal circumstances, such an excursion from Gaara would have been of little consequence to either Temari or Kankuro, but the situation at hand changed that.

During his absence, the redhead had assigned Temari to keep watch over Shikamaru and prevent any attempts at escape from the shadow user. It was this specification that irritated her the most.

'He won't try it. He's too lazy for that. No, too smart. Well, probably a bit of both' she thought to herself with narrowed eyes. She was currently situated across from him in the estate's lounging room, watching him flip through a bingo book. The pair had been sitting in silence for nearly an hour. Nothing had been said, which was both good and bad. Good in that it meant that no opportunities for conflict had arisen, but less than due to the sheer dullness of the silence.

The fan wielder absently filed her nails with a kunai as Shikamaru flipped to a new page in the bingo book. Despite reading through a list of hardened criminals, gruesome details of their committed atrocities included, the Nara's facial expression had seldom changed throughout his skimming of the material.

'If I were paranoid, I'd think that you were reading that to put me on edge. There's a newspaper five feet away, and you haven't touched it' she thought to herself. As she watched him listlessly study the criminal record, her mind wandered back to the day of the invasion. Specifically, she began to ponder her pair of encounters with the lackadaisical genin sitting across the room from her.

'Who could have guessed that you would have such a dog in you?' she mused as the memories of their officiated match circulated her mind. Every tactic, every adjustment, and ever last exchange of blows flooded her brain. As they did so, a twinge of frustration nagged at her conscience. It vanished as quickly as it came.

'I want to be pissed about it, I really do, and I am to some extent, but at the end of the day, you beat me both ways. You outsmarted me, and then you had the nerve to outlast me physically' she conceded with a slightly-more-audible-than-intended sigh. To her relief, Shikamaru's gaze did not wander from his bingo book. Taking mental note to avoid another small outburst, Temari returned to her thoughts. Deciding to traverse the events of the invasion in chronological orders, she moved on to her second meeting with the shadow user in the dark lower hall of the Konoha stadium.

Images quickly flashed through her mind, from the terror in Hanabi Hyuga's eyes to Shikamaru's exhausted and battered face. The visual of the konoha genin brought a wave of guilt washing over the fan wielder.

'You were a wounded animal already when I showed up. Unlike me, you didn't have the benefit of a food pill. You were at the end of your rope' she thought to herself, her glare softening to a simple gaze in the Nara's direction.

'You knew you couldn't possibly win, and you had no way to know that I wasn't really there to kill you, but you stood up straight and did you damndest anyways. What I don't get is why you just..._gave up_ when I cornered you. You were tired and injured, but I didn't hurt you that badly, and you weren't exactly dying of oxygen deprivation' she pondered. Before Temari could begin comparing and considering different answers to her question, Shikamaru put down the bingo book.

"Why're you staring at me like that? Glaring is fine, but just _staring_? That's weird and requires an explanation" he asked bluntly. The sand kunoichi snapped out of her trance and erected a look of thorny irritation to mask her embarrassment.

"I was trying to figure out whether your head is shaped like a pineapple or not" she said, quite pleased with herself for having come up with the retort on the fly. Shikamaru sighed and gave her a bored look.

"Wow, how creative of you. Think I haven't heard that one before?" he replied, annoyance audible in his tone. Temari snickered at his obvious irritation.

"Does it matter? It clearly bugs you" she countered. The shadow user shrugged and stood up to stretch. After completing that task, he plodded over to the coffee maker and poured himself a cup.

"No, but you have nothing to be proud of. Unless you and Gaara are cut from the same sadistic cloth" he said, earning a raised eyebrow from the fan wielder.

"That's a new look from you. Wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" she asked mockingly. Shikamaru sipped his burning liquid and returned to his seat.

"Sleep's been tough here. A three hour average would put anybody in a bad mood" he said matter-of-factly. Temari studied him as he turned his attention to the newspaper sitting nearby. After a moment's consideration, she decided to make an attempt to satisfy her curiosity.

"I have a question. One I want you to answer honestly" she said. The lazy genin looked up from the local newsletter he was reading and frowned.

"Ask away, I guess" he said, making a motion for her to pose her question as he spoke. The sand kunoichi nodded and mentally drifted back to the dark hall in which she had taken him hostage.

"Why did you give up when I cornered you? You weren't completely done yet, and I probably couldn't have dodged you if you had taken a swing at me" she asked. Shikamaru remained silent for a moment, but eventually responded.

"Think of it like chess. If a person checkmates you, there's no point in arguing. You've lost, no two ways about it. You had me checkmated, so I conceded. Simple as that" he replied. Temari shook her head.

"I didn't draw a weapon on you until I knocked you out. You had time to move, or at least try to retaliate. You might have been able to get some space if you had tried hard enough" she pointed out. The shadow user put down his newspaper.

"Trying hard isn't something I do. And before you say it, I only pressed so hard during our match because I needed to inform my sensei that something was coming. I needed to beat you quickly, so I did everything I could. My job was done by the time I ran into you in the hallway. There was nothing more for me to do" he explained. Temari furrowed her eyebrows.

"So you were willing to just let me kill you? Does your own life mean _anything_ to you?" she demanded, surprising even herself with the amount of indignation present in her voice. Shikamaru sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"I'm a genin. I'm one of thousands. I'm entirely expendable. By informing my superiors of an oncoming threat, I had already accomplished more than most chunin can claim to have done. That was enough for me, you know? It still is" he replied numbly. The sand kunoichi's hands curled into fists at his words. She shot to her feet and stormed across the lounge, seizing Shikamaru by the front of his shirt and heaving him to his feet.

"_Expendable_? _Really?_ Human life is human life, bright eyes. It doesn't matter who it is, it has worth. You included, as much as I hate to say it. Don't insult all of the young ninja who lose their lives on the battlefield and on missions" she hissed. Shikamaru scowled and attempted to remove her hands from his collar to no avail.

"You aren't getting it. I never said that genin are, as a group, expendable. I said that _I'm_ expendable. I have no way to know who or what my comrades can or will become, but I do that about myself. I won't be important in the long run, so I'm not an essential commodity. I can be replaced by somebody more promising" he clarified. His answer did nothing to quell the anger of the sand kunoichi, who tightened her grip on his shirt.

"Yeah? And how is that any better? You're giving up before you even try, and you of all people shouldn't sink so low. Like you said, you actually put in some effort when you fought me, and you _won_, damn it. Even if we use your stupid ideology, you could be 'important' in the future if you just got off your ass and tried to be" she said. Shikamaru clenched his jaw.

"Why are you so _offended_ by this? Me thinking of myself as expendable, which, logically, I am, is of no consequence to you. There's no reason for you to be so fired up" he asked riggedly. Temari yanked on his collar again, sending his forehead crashing into hers. Despite the collision, she maintained her grip.

"Because I put _myself_ at risk to make sure _you_ survived the invasion! If I hadn't put you to sleep and taken you with me, Gaara would have come looking, and he would have torn you to pieces. It was still a dice roll as to whether or not Gaara would even go along with the whole hostage thing, and if he had refused, I would have been questioned and maybe even punished for it" she practically yelled. Hanging on to his composure by a thread, Shikamaru asked a question he had asked once before.

"Then _why_ did you do it? What's in this for you? You said it yourself, it was a risk. Why were you so hellbent on me surviving?" he asked as calmly as he could. Much to his surprise, the question seemed to quell the flames of Temari's anger. She slowly released him from her grip and let her arms drop to her sides.

"Have you ever considered that maybe, just maybe, I'm not all that sure myself?" she asked quietly. The shadow user sighed at the response.

"Well, you definitely have some idea, because it seems to be your basis for hating the way I talk about my self-worth" he said. The fan wielder raised her eyes up from the floor and gave him a strained look.

"You didn't deserve to die. Especially not to Gaara" she replied. Shikamaru chewed his lip absently as he pondered the answer.

"Well, let me through some of your own logic right back at you then. _Neither did the other people who your soldiers slaughtered" _he said bluntly. Temari flinched at the harsh remark, but didn't let it scare her out of responding.

"You're right, but I couldn't have taken more than one person, and frankly, none of those people mean a damn thing to me" she said honestly. The konoha genin reached down and grabbed his cup of coffee. He downed the rest of it and tossed the cup into a nearby garbage can.

"And I do?" he asked simply. The sand kunoichi shrugged and shook her head dejectedly.

"I never said I wasn't selfish" she said in response. The shadow user frowned at the statement and scrunched up his eyebrows.

"That isn't an answer" he said, perplexed by the meaning, or lack thereof, of his overseer's reply to his question. Temari stepped back and cracked her stiff neck.

"And I don't have to give you one. As things stand, you're the prisoner, and I'm the jailor. I don't take orders from you" she said, returning to her original seat as she spoke. The Nara sighed and did the same, realizing that pressing any further would be pointless. Things then returned to the way they had been, with neither ninja engaging in any sort of conversation and quietly reading anything they could find that seemed interesting.

Such was life, as both the Jailor and the captive were imprisoned in one way or another.

* * *

Hinata rubbed her eyes as she was led along by Kakashi through the lamp-lit streets of Konoha. It was late, nearly midnight, and her sensei had decided to drag her out of bed in order to show her something. Her father had not been notified, and neither had Neji, meaning that discovery of her absence would result in a complicated series of conversations. Despite the potential risk, the heiress was far too curious as to what her instructor had felt so compelled to show her.

'It must be fascinating, given that he himself is weakened' she thought to herself. While he was still fully capable of walking and performing basic tasks, Kakashi's chakra system had been ravaged by his overuse of his sharingan against Orochimaru, meaning that he was unable to utilize jutsu of any kind for the next month or so.

"What is it we're headed towards, if you don't mind me asking?" she asked curiously. The silver hair ninja glanced over his shoulder and picked up his pace, prompting the heiress to do the same.

"There's something I think you need to see. You'll understand when we get there" he said vaguely. The Hyuga girl rolled her eyes and continued to run after her teacher. On and on they ran. For nearly ten minutes, they ran through training ground after training ground. Eventually, Kakashi stopped running and signalled for Hinata to leap into a nearby tree with him, an order that she followed.

"Why are we out here? To my knowledge, this field is abandoned" she asked skeptically. The jonin pointed off into the distance. The heiress glanced to where he was directing her and activated her byakugan. Once she had done so, two figures came into view. She recognized them instantly.

"Why are Naruto-kun and Hokage-sama... _sparring_ in the middle of the night?" she asked no-one in particular. Kakashi sat down on the sturdy branch.

"Preparation, that's why. Naruto isn't cutting any corners for this rescue. He's making the absolute most of Team Seven's leave from missions" he explained. Hinata sighed.

"That does sound like him, but this is a tad excessive, don't you think?" she said. The silver haired ninja took out a granola bar and discreetly consumed it so as not to reveal the lower half of his face.

"Not really, considering who he's up against. I did some digging into Gaara of the Sand, and that kid has a B-ranked mission under his belt. He's no joke, and he's a Jinchuuriki. A stronger one than Naruto naturally. Your boyfriend needs all the sharpening he can get" he said. Hinata reddened a bit.

"Oh, so you know about that?" she asked. Kakashi chuckled and nodded, offering her a granola bar as he did so.

"I knew from day one that you were going to claim him at some point. The more you hate somebody, the more room you have to love them just as much" he replied with a smile. The heiress returned the gesture, but soon frowned.

"Is this all you brought me out here for? To show me how hard he's working for this?" she asked. The silver haired ninja shook his head and turned his attention back towards the distant sparring session.

"Take a close look at Naruto and tell me what you notice about him" he said. Hinata did as she was told and focused her dojutsu on the far-off blonde. After nearly a full minute of inspection, she furrowed her eyebrows and funnelled more chakra into her eyes to increase her range of vision even further. What she saw was jarring.

"H-he's encased in some sort of red chakra mass. His eyes are red as well. It looks to me like...the fox" she said tensely. Kakashi nodded and gave her a sympathetic look.

"What you're seeing is the form he assumed when he realized he was cornered against Orochimaru. It's the stage beyond what he used against you in your preliminary match" he clarified. The heiress felt her stomach churn at the awful chakra she was sensing.

"What vile energy. It seems to be hurting him to use it too. He flinches periodically, even before Hokage-sama strikes at him. Why would he torture his body that way?" she said, a hand now covering her mouth. Kakashi stood up and leaned against the tree trunk.

"He thought he was going to die that night. And, as Naruto always does, he refused to go down without fighting. He willingly turned his body into an explosive tag with a lit fuse. Admirable doesn't do it justice. The kid became the demon he was accused of being to defend his home" he said, emotion creeping into his voice near the end. Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and stared at the ground below.

"Why did you show me this? What was the point?" she asked quietly. Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him.

"I need you to understand the way he thinks, Hinata. He's selfless to a fault. It's hard to blame him considering his childhood, but he thinks of himself as a resource to be used up by those he thinks are worth defending. He went to extreme lengths in order to save you from the curse mark, and he went even further to give himself the ability to stave off Orochimaru" he said. The heiress frowned.

"What are you getting at?" she questioned. The silver haired jonin jammed a thumb in Naruto and Hiruzen's direction.

"He's going to Suna to kill Gaara even more than he is to retrieve Shikamaru. Why? Because he considers Gaara a threat to you, a threat to me, and a threat to Konoha. He's trying to ensure the safety of the things he cares about, no matter what it costs him" he explained. Hinata, unlike with the previous statement, understood. She gazed off in the Jinchuuriki's direction and bit her lip.

"Why can't he just worry about himself for once?" she said quietly. Kakashi let his hand drop from her shoulder.

"You're going to find yourself screaming something along those lines at some point in Suna. Just a warning, it's going to fall on deaf ears" he said sympathetically. He then flinched as his left eye pulsed painfully.

"He might not live very long, Hinata. He's managed to survive up to this point by virtue of grit and a bit of luck. Eventually, the other shoe is going to drop" he said honestly. The heiress shook her head firmly and fully turned in the direction of the sparring session.

"He'll live a long life. When the day does come on which he runs out of luck, I'll give him some of mine. Should he lose heart and begin to die from the inside out, I'll do my best to revive him. The grim reaper will know me well and dislike me strongly by the time I pass away" she said, her tone hard as steel. Kakashi stared at her silently for a few seconds before smiling.

'She takes after her father. She'll make a good leader and an even better wife someday' he thought proudly. Eventually, the jonin grew tired of sitting in the tree and left to sleep, leaving Hinata alone to watch her teammate learn by harsh experience from their village's leader.

An hour later, Naruto collapsed out of exhaustion, prompting Hinata to swoop in and carry him home, much to the amusement of Hiruzen.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you guys are liking the longer chapters. It would really help me out if more of you could review, though. Feedback is what motivates me to write and helps me improve. So if you have thoughts on the chapter, let me know in a review! :)**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	44. Pest Extermination

**A/N: Time to begin the journey to Suna, sort of. Also, for those of you who don't like blood, this chapter may not be for you.**

**Time for chapter 44**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Gaara sighed to himself as he straightened his collar and dusted off his front. Suits were not, and never would be, his forte, but they were a necessity in political discussion. Despite his dislike of the attire, he seldom complained. Some things were required, and such was the life of a young aristocrat. Along with his aesthetic displeasure with such an outfit, Gaara considered it to be impractical, as it limited combative movement.

'Tailors make a killing selling a cloth prison. Cunning' he thought to himself irritatedly while he finished tying his tie. He then turned to Baki, who stood in the corner of the room.

"Do I look presentable?" he asked. The jonin laughed a bit and gave the Jinchuuriki a thumbs-up.

"As close as you're going to get given your hatred of formal wear" he said. Gaara nodded and walked over to the corner of his dressing room. He popped open the cap of his gourd and poured some of its contents into a small vial. Once he was satisfied with the volume of sand, he recapped the gourd and slipped the vial into his pocket. His sensei raised an eyebrow and began to follow the son of his former overlord as the redhead exited the room. Before Baki could leave the room to pursue him, the Jinchuuriki stopped walking.

"Go for a walk, Baki" he said simply. Despite the simplicity and vagueness of the sentence, the jonin understood its meaning and implications all too well. Against his own desires, Baki nodded and began a slow trek toward the opposite end of the hallway. Once the footsteps of his teacher had dulled sufficiently, Gaara resumed walking. The halls were eerily silent, with the redhead being able to hear his own heartbeat. Each step he took echoed through the corridor, bouncing off of the static forms of the estate service faculty repeatedly. A symphony of audible silence.

Feeling that all of the gainable attention was now on him and him alone, Gaara stopped walking once again, this time at the bend of the hallways corner.

"You're all free to take an extended lunch break" he announced, addressing every living soul in the wing. A tense, collective nod came from the staff, who slowly began to filter out of the hall. The Jinchuuriki then turned to continue his journey, but was bumped into by a young maid, who fell to her rear end at the impact. She stared up at Gaara fearfully, her eyes wide with terror. The sharp-dressed redhead, to her great relief, but also skepticism, offered her a hand. The maid shakily took the outstretched limb and stood to her feet.

"F-forgive me, Gaara-sama. I should have paid more attention…" she stuttered. Gaara shook his head and stepped around her. Before walking away completely, he put a hand on her shoulder and leaned into her ear.

"Spread the word of the _break_, and I'll forget all about this. Sound reasonable?" he asked smoothly. The maid nodded rapidly and took off running down the hall. Chuckling to himself as he traveled towards his destination, Gaara shook his head.

'Like clockwork' he thought to himself. After another minute or two of walking, he reached the door he had been searching for. Gaara took a deep breath and cracked his neck.

'Showtime' he thought with a professional smile as he pushed the door open and stepped inside. Within the room was a round table, each of the seats, save for one, being occupied by a member of Sunagakure's council.

"You're late, Gaara-sama" Chiyo, one of the Village Elders, pointed out with an irritable sigh. The redhead bowed apologetically and sat down in the free seat at the table.

"Forgive my tardiness, Chiyo-san. I was hampered by a conflict amongst the service staff. A petty spat that needed to be sorted out, you understand" he said politely. A grumble resonated through the room, but nobody spoke a word. Once the silence had stretched on for a bit, Ebizo, brother of Chiyo, cleared his throat.

"As you all may well have guessed, this congregation has been called to discuss the topic of the passing of Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage. Obviously, this leaves the Village in a precarious position of uncertainty as to our future. With no realistic way for candidates to put together political campaigns on short notice due to the failed invasion, we need to scramble. Leadership is needed now more than ever" he said, voicing the thoughts of most of the people in the room.

A heated debate as to the method of election and the identities of the potential choices immediately ensued, filling the room with selfish tension. Gaara listened to the men bicker for the next five minutes before clearing his own throat loudly.

"Have something to say?" one of the men snapped, the tension of the argument visible on his face through beads of sweat and pulsing veins. The redhead nodded and glanced at each of the council members intently.

"I suggest...that we follow the example of Kumogakure. Humanitarian issues aside, The Hidden Cloud are the least politically tumultuous of the villages. Why? Because they have a very clearly defined system of selection for their officials, especially their Kage. One might even call it _inheritance_" he said, gaining the ire-ridden glares of the council.

"In fact, I daresay we were well on our way to conversion at the time of my late father's passing. I was set to be launched into a campaign come my eighteenth birthday, and we all know who would have won _that _election" he continued, eliciting growls from several men in the room. Gaara shot one of the men in particular, a passionate opposer of Rasa during his reign, a challenging look.

"What angers you about what I just said? You know it to be true, whether you choose to admit it or not" he said. The man, named Hayato Maizono, rose to his feet and jammed a finger towards the redhead.

"You're bending this situation to your advantage" he accused, looking to the other council members for support. Before responding, Gaara reached into his pocket under the table and crushed the glass vial, allowing his sand to quietly grind it down and mix with the powdered glass. As the process of pulverization took place, Gaara shrugged his shoulders and Hayato.

"So is everybody else in this room, Maizono-san. You included. This wouldn't even be a debate if they weren't. Hypocrisy suits you poorly. Take a seat" he said sharply. Hayato gritted his teeth, but did as he was instructed.

'One identified…' Gaara thought to himself, scanning the conference room carefully as he formed his analytical thoughts completely.

'...potentially seven to go' he concluded. The debate then resumed, albeit at a slower pace than it had been raging at before. Throughout the meeting, Gaara remained silent and carefully considered the opinions of the councilmen, comparing and contrasting their ideals to those of his own family. Once each of seven members of the council other than Hayato had spoken at length, Gaara took control of the glass and sand mixture in his pocket.

'Five of eight. Roughly sixty-three percent are opposed to me. Not ideal, but it could have been worse' he thought to himself as he sent forth his sand. The horde of particles floated up into the air, cleverly dispersed and positioned to reflect light in such a way that it was invisible. Gaara drifted the sand across the table, undetected, towards Hayato. Before it was within literal spitting distance of the councilman, the Jinchuuriki froze the sand in place, only allowing it to move enough to maintain its reflective disguise.

Gaara observed his breathing pattern carefully, taking his time nailing down the timing and variation. After a full minute of calculation, the redhead made a quick gesture with his fingers by his waist. The sand then flew down Hayato's throat, matched with his intake of breath so as no to alert him to his oncoming ailment.

'Does he spray or choke? Let's find out' Gaara thought to himself. He then closed his fist and clenched it. The sand and glass floating in Hayato's throat then rotated rapidly, shredding the inside of his throat and severing his tonsils. Hayato immediately lurched forward and grasped his throat. The other members of the council glanced at him skeptically. A moment later, he coughed hellaciously, splattering blood across the table and onto the faces of the delegates.

'A sprayer. How dramatic' Gaara mused humorously as the council sputtered and blanched at the horrific scene of blood and phlegm. After a painfully long process of suffocation and excessive bleeding, Hayato Maizono ceased moving. A fearful silence dragged on for a bit, eventually giving way to the voice of another councilman.

"Who is responsible? Come forward. That was not natural" he demanded, his voice breaking despite the harshness of his words. Unfortunately for the unknowing man, his call for honesty would cost him his life, as he happened to be among the five opposed to Gaara.

'A volunteer. How convenient' the Jinchuuriki applauded the poor politician. Gaara's sand, which he had carefully extracted from the mouth of Hayato, then formed itself into a thin, needle-eque shape. Detrimental to the sediment's stealth, it was now stained blood red.

'Oh well. This was never going to be covert anyway' he thought with a sigh as he stood to his feet.

"Gentleman…" he began, pausing his sentence to snap his fingers and prompt his now-red sand into action. The sand needle then speared itself into the councilman who had called for the perpetrator's neck, piercing his jugular and producing a similar mist of blood to the first.

"...Forgive the mess" he finished. Before anybody could react to the second murder, the throats of the three remaining opponents of the ruling family of Suna's agenda were cleanly slit. Once the sounds of choking and cries of pain died down to silence once more, Gaara looked to each of the remaining members of the council.

"Wipe those looks off your faces. You won't be dying here today. We share the same goals and ideologies, so I have reason to spare your lives. Prove yourselves to be sufficiently beneficial to my family and we may even do you some favors" he said, the calmness of his tone starkly contrasting the five corpses lying on the floor of the conference room.

"W-what will be done about these bodies, G-Gaara-sama?" one of the three remaining councilmen asked shakily. The Jinchuuriki thought for a moment before looking over to Chiyo, who was still sitting in the corner of the room wearing an unreadable facial expression.

"You were a skilled medical ninja in your day. Could you find a way to alter an autopsy to make this look a bit more...accidental?" he asked. The old woman stared at him intently, seemingly weighing her options.

"Yes, I could. It may take me a few hours, so I'll need this room to myself" she replied. Gaara nodded and turned his attention back to the terrified, tattered council.

"That takes care of that. Any other questions?" he asked, his tone making it crystal clear that any responses would result in bloodshed. All three men shook their heads rapidly and bolted out of the room. Once they were gone, Ebizo spoke.

"Was that really necessary, Gaara-sama?" he asked. The Jinchuuriki shrugged his shoulders and stretched with a look of satisfaction on his face.

"Perhaps not, but in the long run, I believe this will smooth the road a bit" he replied. Chiyo sighed heavily and sipped her tea.

"For who, exactly? Yourself?" she asked rhetorically. Gaara, much to her surprise, shook his head at the question.

"As I'm sure you're aware, I'm rolling the dice in a few week's time. This was _mostly_ for myself, but in the event that I am slain, some family security is always nice" he explained. Ebizo laughed a bit.

"I'm genuinely shocked you care enough to make such a consideration" he said bluntly. The redhead ignored the remark and shifted his bloody horde of sand into the shape of scythe.

"I've killed my fair share of people in my time, and very few of them have reacted positively to the immediate knowledge of their oncoming passing" he commented thoughtfully.

"It seems that most people wouldn't consider death to be a 'sweet release' in accordance with the saying" he continued, his voice more a mutter than a strong presence. Chiyo raised an eyebrow at the stream of thought.

"Would _you?_" she asked curiously. The Jinchuuriki turned around and began to walk towards the door of the conference room, stepping over several bodies on the way.

"Yes, but only by the hands of a worthy executioner"

* * *

"Are you properly packed?" Hinata asked for the third time that hour as she watched Naruto lock up his apartment, a backpack at his feet. The blonde groaned and picked up the storage unit, slinging it over his shoulder.

"For the last time, _yes_. I have rations, a change of clothes, and because you forced me, a book" he listed tiredly. The Hyuga girl nodded in approval and closely accompanied the Jinchuuriki down the stairs of the building. Once they reached the bottom, Naruto glanced at her.

"You know that this isn't a tourist trip, right? It's not like we're going to be spending all that long in Suna. If things go perfectly, we'll be there for a few hours and then leave" he said. Hinata sighed and nodded.

"Yes, I know. I just...want to make this feel as close to normal as possible. To decrease the stress of it all, you know?" she replied. The blonde smiled at the sentiment.

"That's sweet of you. Thank you for caring enough to think that way, but I think it would be better for me to be tense for this. I'm literally walking face-first into a deathmatch" he pointed out, a trace of humour in his voice. Despite his attempt at a joke, the word 'death' in association with his name visibly bothered the heiress. She immediately grabbed hold of his hand, squeezing it to the point of numbness.

"Win, lose, or draw, you won't die in Sunagakure. If somebody meets their end in the desert, it will be Gaara. I'll make sure of that" she said rigidly. The Jinchuuriki frowned at her newfound intensity.

"I appreciate the thought, but where's this coming from?" he asked skeptically. Hinata softened her grip on his hand and neatly entwined their fingers.

"I promised you that I would keep you safe, remember? Given the amount I've already deceived you, I would rather not break another vow" she said quietly. Naruto, much to her surprise, laughed at her declaration.

"You don't really have the cutest personality on the surface, but there are little parts of it that are adorable sometimes" he remarked. The Hyuga girl blushed red at his words.

"I-Is that so? What specifically caught your attention just now?" she asked, her embarrassment audible in her voice.

"The way you speak. You talk like a politician giving a speech on the death toll in a war. It sounds super intimidating when you're mad, but when you're being nice or sweet, it just sounds so funny. I love it" he said. Hinata reddened further and looked to the ground to hide her flustered face.

"I can't help that I was raised in an environment that molded my speech patterns that way" she said meekly. The blonde smiled wide at her uncharacteristic shyness.

"Never change it. I used to hate the way you talk, but now it's my favorite thing about you other than your personality and eyes" he said. Hinata sighed and touched her face with her free hand, finding that her cheeks were burning hot.

"You really are oblivious of the effect you have on me, aren't you?" she asked. Naruto glanced at her face and laughed again, earning a glare from his significant other.

"_What_, pray tell, is so funny, Naruto-kun?" she asked dangerously. The blonde pointed to his own face for symbolism.

"Your face is so red that it's clashing with your hair" he said through his laughter. The heiress scowled and infused a bit of chakra into his arm through their linked hands, causing it to lose feeling.

"As with my manner of speech, I can't help that my hair is blue. This is _your_ fault, Naruto-kun" she grumbled. The pair continued to lightly bicker until they reached the gates of Konoha, where Neji and Kurenai awaited them. After a brief discussion of the route they would be taking, the group set out with the Jonin woman in the lead.

It wouldn't be long until the worst day of their careers as ninja would be upon them.

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**A/N: The first scene was extremely brutal, and it was supposed to be. I did warn you all. Also, I love contrast chapters, so the second scene was cute for that reason. Make sure to tell me what you thought in a review. It really, really helps to have feedback :)**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	45. Welcome to Hell

**A/N: This should be fun. If you enjoy mixed-emotion scenes, this chapter has some of that, so buckle up bois.**

**Time for chapter 45**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Temari wore a scowl as she stomped down the hall towards the door to Gaara's study. It was just after lunch, and while the food itself had been pleasant, the information she had acquired during the meal was just the opposite. As she trudged along, her uninvited companion tried to reason with her.

"Look, I get why you're angry, but is this _really_ a good idea? You know him better than I do, but crossing Gaara doesn't feel like a good idea" Shikamaru said as he struggled to keep pace with the indignated blonde. Temari snorted at his question.

"Gaara doesn't value family much, but he tends to let Kankuro and I off easy. Besides, I'm not in the wrong here. _He _is" she huffed, not bothering to glance at the shadow user. The shadow user shook his head and sighed tiredly as the fan wielder came to a halt in front of a door. Before he could step forward in any meaningful way, she turned around and stabbed a kunai into the floor in front of his feet.

"Don't cross the knife. This is my business, not yours. This'll be done in five minutes. And no matter what you think you hear, don't come inside" she ordered. As Shikamaru opened his mouth to protest, Temari turned back around and threw the door open, slamming it behind her once she was within the room. As it tended to be, the study was dark save for the light of a lamp.

"Turn on the lights, Gaara. It's noon" the sand kunoichi snapped at her brother, who was seated behind his desk in the far left corner of the room. The redhead raised an eyebrow, but did as he was told and hit the switch. Once the room was fully lit, Temari stormed up to the desk and slammed her hands down on it.

"So, would you mind explaining to me why you thought it was a good idea to kill more than half the council?" she hissed. The Jinchuuriki chuckled at her aggression and leaned back in his chair calmly.

"Pests should be exterminated, and we had a few. Trust me, you'll be thanking me for this in a few years. Maybe even months, depending on my fortunes" he replied with a shrug. Temari shook her head and stood up straight again.

"No, I won't be. All this will do is create tension in the administration. Nothing good comes of this. Maybe the people you killed were a bit questionable, but murdering them wasn't the answer. We could have forced them out of their positions in other ways" she said firmly. Gaara frowned and leaned over his desktop.

"You think I killed them simply because they were 'questionable'? No, they were in direct opposition to our agenda. They would have become an issue given enough time to scheme. I cut off the snake's head, Temari. Think before you criticize" he said sharply. One particular detail of his response aroused irritation and anger in the sand kunoichi.

"You mean _your_ agenda. This had nothing to do with me. You were ensuring your own rise to power. Don't try to make this about something it isn't" she said accusingly. Gaara rested his chin on his hands.

"This is about much more than myself, elder sister. The likelihood of me surviving into my thirties is decidedly quite low. Clearing the path for either you or Kankuro, preferably you, to a reign as Kazekage is my priority as of now" he said. Temari pursed her lips.

"You know as well as I do that Kankuro can't lead the village, and even if I can, that isn't what I want. I hate being responsible for people, and I'm nobody's idea of inspiring" she said. Gaara shrugged again and gave her an unsympathetic look.

"You don't have much of a choice, I'm afraid. Unless you're selfish enough to watch this village fall to ruin under the guidance of an incompetent fool, you're going to lead it one day" he assured her insensitively. The fan wielder clenched her jaw.

"Don't try to guilt me into this, brat. I'm still your older sister, and you need to show me some respect" she growled. Gaara's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Don't get bold with me, Temari. You won't like where it gets you" he warned, slowly rising up from his chair as he spoke.

"You're trying to play god. You can't just bend people to your will. That isn't how life works. You can rule this village and live out your fantasy all you want, but I won't be a part of it" the sand kunoichi said firmly. Gaara scowled.

" 'Play god'? Is that what you think? If so, you really should reconsider your thought process. Everything I do is driven by reason and premeditation. I enjoy blood and guts, but even I know that parsing out how much of it I spill is beneficial" he said. Temari gave him a disgusted look.

"Okay, maybe you aren't playing god. I don't think you're even stable enough to play around with life and death. You just kill on a whim. Every once in a while, you come up with some half-baked plan, but that's it. You're just a crooked _kid" _she said. Realizing immediately that she had said too much, Temari looked on rigidly as the cogs turned in Gaara's twisted mind.

"I dislike being questioned, but I'm not petty enough to simply deny your accusations without providing evidence of my own argument first. How about I disprove only one of your statements instead of all of them?" he said vaguely. A tendril of sand then crept out of his gourd in the corner of the room and wrapped around the door handle. The sand then turned it and pushed the door open, revealing Shikamaru leaned against the opposite wall.

"Would you mind stepping into my study for a moment, Shikamaru? There's something I wish to settle with my sister" Gaara asked politely. Temari's blood ran cold as she recognized her brother's intentions. She looked to the shadow user and shook her head rapidly.

"Don't come in. Don't listen to him" she said tensely. Shikamaru, sensing that she was not trying to be controlling, nodded and remained against the wall. The redhead sighed at the development and extended a hand forward. The sand limb then extended beyond the confines of the room and latched onto Shikamaru's ankle, dragging him into the study.

"So nice of you to join us. Now, let's get down to business" the Jinchuuriki said, shifting the grip of his sand from the shadow user's ankle to his throat. Temari made a sound of desperate protest, but shut her mouth when Gaara hoisted Shikamaru off the ground by his neck.

"So, since you claimed that I lack the stability to play with life and death, we're going to conduct an experiment. The human brain begins to hemorrhage when deprived of oxygen for four consecutive minutes, but I wonder, does mid-air suspension speed up that process? I'm going to hypothesize and say that it does" he said coldly. The Jinchuuriki's sand then clamped down on the Nara's neck, causing him to go red immediately. The sand kunoichi balled her hands into fists.

"What do you want? What will make you let him go?" she demanded as her former foe gagged and choked. Gaara smirked.

"Two things. First of all, I want you to repent for your egregious statements, and second, I want you to do it on your knees. Grovel at my feet" he listed, clearly enjoying every moment of his cruel game. Temari bared her teeth and slowly bent down to a kneeling position.

"I'd speed up a bit if I were you. Your little pet project is struggling. Ninety seconds of suffocation can't be good for you" Gaara jeered. The Jinchuuriki then stopped moving, seemingly frozen. Temari turned her gaze upwards and saw that Shikamaru had connected his shadow to Gaara's.

"Oh, now that's a surprise. I didn't think you had anything left in you. I guess you warrant a bit more than strangulation" the redhead chuckled as he effortlessly broke free from the konoha genin's jutsu. A separate strain of sand then formed at Gaara's side and shaped itself into a javelin-esque rod. The Jinchuuriki positioned the new horde of serrated sand in front of Shikamaru's stomach, prompting Temari to launch herself from her knees. While she was unable to put her body between the sand spear and the Nara, she was able to grab hold of the deadly rod with her hands.

Mustering every bit of her strength, the fan wielder pushed back against it and held it from puncturing Shikamaru's abdomen. Back down on her knees to better plant herself, Temari looked up to Gaara.

"_Please stop_…" she begged quietly. Much to her shock and great relief, her brother granted her feeble request, releasing Shikamaru from his grip and dissipating the sand spear.

"You may not have taken back your foolish words, but you grovelled more sincerely than I thought possible" he said as the sand returned to his gourd. The Jinchuuriki then made his way over to the container of sand and slung it over his shoulder.

"I'll leave you to tend to him. Just make sure you've cleaned up the blood by the time I get back. I'm taking a walk" he said, exiting the room with his gourd a moment later. Temari glanced down at her hands once he was gone, the palms of which had been badly cut open by the sharp spear of sediment. Reality then came crashing back to her as she spotted Shikamaru slowly sitting up and rubbing his neck. She considered rushing to his aid, but opted against it when she felt her eyes sting.

"Thanks for that, Temari. I'd have been dead" the shadow user said gratefully in reference to the act of heroism that had prevented his skewering. When he received no response, Shikamaru looked at her more closely.

"Are you...crying?" he asked carefully. Temari nodded and wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

"I'm sorry…" she sniffled quietly, her tone utterly defeated. The konoha genin frowned and scooted a bit closer to her to better hear her.

"For what? You had no way to know that he was going to do that" he reassured. The sand kunoichi shook her head and buried her face in her knees.

"No, that's not what I meant. I'm sorry for bringing you here. For kidnapping you and dragging you into this hell. _My _hell" she said shakily. Shikamaru furrowed his eyebrows.

"I mean, I appreciate the apology, but why are you saying that? You said it yourself, I probably would have died if you hadn't taken me. As much as it still bugs me" he asked skeptically. Temari lifted her face from her knees and wrested her chin on them.

"Because you'd be better off dead than surviving in this place. I should have just let you die. It would have been a mercy" she said, a new wave of sobs hitting her the moment she finished the sentence. Shikamaru frowned.

"I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but why did you do it?" he asked, fully expecting to be snapped at in response. To his surprise, Temari did no such thing.

"Do you really want to know? You won't like the answer" she asked in response. The shadow user nodded hesitantly. The sand kunoichi sighed heavily and turned her head to look at him.

"I just wanted somebody to share this with, I guess. Not that 'this' is desirable. I brought you into my nightmare. This life of fear and a lack of control. I...just wanted a friend, or something like it" she admitted, clearly ashamed of her words. Shikamaru stared at her silently for a moment.

"And you chose me, because...why?" he asked in confusion. Temari studied her bloody hands and let them drop to her sides.

"You're smart, you're resourceful, and you're the kind of guy who can adapt to anything when forced. Honestly, I would have let you die if you hadn't beaten me the way you did. If you hadn't shown me just how rawhide tough you can be when your back is to the wall. I knew when I woke up in the infirmary that you were up for it. Even now, after being strangled half to death, you aren't panicked" she explained softly. The shadow user gave her a strange look.

"You know, part of me wants to say you're a selfish brat and call it a day, but at the same time, I understand. I don't like your reasons, but you also don't deserve to suffer. Nobody does" he said kindly. Temari's bottom lip quivered and her arms shook as she reached out and laid a bloody hand on the side of his face.

"And neither do you. I thought it would be easier for me to cope with all of this if somebody else was taking the same punishment, but all it did was make me feel guilty. Kankuro is smart enough to stay out of Gaara's way, but I'm too stubborn. You paid the price for my hard-headedness today, and I'm so, so sorry for that, Shikamaru" she apologized. Shikamaru glanced at the hand on his cheek.

"Do you want a hug?" he asked. Much to his shock, Temari nodded and reached forward, like a small child needing to be consoled. Sighing internally, the recently-strangled shinobi pulled her into an embrace.

"And before you say something about how I shouldn't get the wrong idea, don't even start. You're tired, and from what you've told me, you've been all alone for awhile. Just take the comfort you need and deserve" he said quietly. The usually brash girl hid her face in his shoulder and squeezed him to the point of discomfort on his end. They stayed seated on the floor, locked together for nearly five minutes before Temari pulled away and wiped her eyes.

"Thank you. I needed that. It's been a long time since I've been hugged" she said meekly. Shikamaru studied her carefully.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you need to take somebody from another village? You have people in this village too" he asked curiously. The sand kunoichi laughed sarcastically, an undertone of bitterness audible.

"When your father is the Kazekage and your youngest brother has a higher body count than most jonin, people tend to avoid you" she said bluntly. Shikamaru winced and nodded.

"Yeah, they would" he said sympathetically. He then looked to the clock hanging on the wall of the study. It was twelve-twenty-five.

"We should probably get up and go. You can call in a maid to clean up the blood" he said. Temari nodded and shakily rose to her feet.

"Again, I'm sorry for today" she said dejectedly. Shikamaru held up a hand and gestured for her to start walking.

"Quit apologizing. It doesn't suit you, and you already said you were sorry. I don't need anything more" he said tiredly. At that, the genin exited into the hall and went their separate ways for the remainder of the day, with Shikamaru returning to his sleeping quarters as per usual, and Temari disappearing into the streets of Suna.

Come nightfall, the konoha genin's door was watchfully guarded by his guilt-ridden captor, unbeknownst to him.

* * *

Kurenai looked on with great interest as Naruto and Neji went back and forth several meters away. The boys had decided to spar an hour ago, and they had not stopped since. While they clearly weren't trying particularly hard, the speed with which exchanges occurred was still staggering for a pair of genin. While the Jonin woman wore a look of surprise on her face, Hinata, who stood by her side sipping on a canteen of water, simply smiled and appreciated the display from both.

"Humbling, isn't it? To see two novice shinobi dive four layers deep into a single trade of strikes. It was for me" the heiress said with a knowing chuckle. Kurenai eyed the Hyuga girl, sensing a past conflict. Despite the detection of since-resolved tension, she decided not to press.

"They're both exceptionally skilled in close, that's for sure. Taijutsu isn't my specialty, so the specifics are lost to me" she admitted. Hinata smiled.

"Would you like an explanation of what each of them are doing to trouble the other?" she offered. The jonin nodded, prompting the heiress to gesture to the boys.

"What would you like me to start with?" she asked. Kurenai thought for a moment before answering the question.

"I know a bit about footwork, but Naruto repeatedly crosses his feet when he's moving toward and around Neji. According to what I was taught, that's a mistake. Why does he keep doing it?" she asked curiously. Just as she asked the question, the Jinchuuriki stepped across his own stance and rolled under a palm strike from Neji before pivoting out to his left and resetting.

"He isn't quite crossing his feet. He's shifting his stance to cover distance. He throws away strikes to disguise the movement of his feet. Kakashi-sensei taught him some odd tricks, and frankly, I'm a bit jealous" she explained. Kurenai nodded.

"He's much more skilled than I thought he would be, honestly" she said. Hinata raised an eyebrow and gave her a look.

"What impression were you under?" she asked skeptically. The Jonin shrugged and marvelled at a wonderful display of defensive craft from Neji as he evaded four consecutive punches in the tightest of quarters.

"He more or less outwilled you when you fought him, and I didn't get to see him fight Gaara. I was out at the village border. We had caught wind of Suna's intentions to invade an hour before the matches started, and I was stationed north" she explained. The pair then lapsed into silence. Eventually, Kurenai spoke once more.

"What I never doubted, though, was how powerful he is. I could feel his chakra from across the village when he was standing against Orochimaru. Everybody could. It was what gave us the motivation to push them back. If a genin was willing to go to the depths of hell to defend his village, so should we" she said. Hinata sighed and gazed at her cousin and teammate as they maneuvered around each other.

"In a day and a half, that strength is going to be tested against somebody very much like him. I suspect, however, that Gaara intentionally concealed his upper limits while he was in Konoha. Lee-san was only able to damage him by virtue of Gaara's lack of respect for his power, and Naruto-kun was never able to build any momentum. I pray to the powers that be that he can find a way to win without getting himself killed in the process" she said. Kurenai absently chewed her lip.

"Do you think he'll win?" she asked. The Hyuga girl finished the last of the water in her canteen and tossed it aside.

"I know Naruto-kun's limits, at least somewhat. I don't know Gaara's. Logically, it is very unlikely that Gaara can match him for raw strength. So, using basic reasoning, I feel as though the most likely result is Gaara's death" she said blankly. The Jonin sighed.

'You wish you could be sure, but you aren't. None of us are' she thought to herself. The boys then wrapped up their sparring session and flopped to their backs. Hinata jogged over to the exhausted genin and began to converse with them. Kurenai smiled at the scene.

'As dire as this all feels, I hope you survive, Naruto. For Hinata's sake'

* * *

**A/N: Ah, that was fun to write. Gaara's still a dick, Temari is in fact a girl, and Shikamaru is capable of being sympathetic. All is right in the world. Tell me what you though :)**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	46. A Wise Man's Gambit

**A/N: One last chapter till things heat up for real. Also, I forgot to mention it earlier, but this fic recently hit ONE THOUSAND followers. Thank you all so much for that!**

**Time for chapter 46**

**Enjoy**

* * *

Gaara drummed his fingers on his desk impatiently as he awaited the arrival of Kankuro. The jinchuuriki had summoned his elder brother neary ten minutes previously, and he had yet to arrive. Despite the lengthy wait, Gaara was not especially irritated, nowhere near as much as he typically would have been. For what reason, he did not know. Eventually, nearly twenty minutes after his initial summoning, Kankuro walked through the open door of his junior brother's study.

"How kind of you to join me" the redhead greeted sarcastically. The puppeteer sighed and sat down in the chair Gaara had left in front of his desk for him.

"Sorry for the wait. I got distracted by something on my way here" he explained. The redhead arched an eyebrow at his brother's explanation.

"And what was it that caught your attention? As fine an estate as this is, very little about it is out of the ordinary. People included" he asked curiously. Kankuro shrugged and chewed his lip mindlessly.

"Nothing all that jarring, but Temari seems to be taking measures to keep Shikamaru in his room. That, and she stood by his door like a watchdog last night" he said casually. Gaara grinned and shook his head at the revelation.

"Now _that_ is funny. Of all the turns I expected her to take as she aged, mother hen wasn't one of them" he joked humorously. His brother chuckled and stretched in his chair.

"Why's she doing it? My guess is that she's using him for _stress relief,_ if you know what I mean" he said. Gaara shook his head again and spun a coin sitting on his desktop.

"No, nothing like that. Her reasoning is in line with the 'mother hen' metaphor I just used. She's trying to keep him away from me entirely, and that includes night patrols, apparently" he explained. The puppeteer frowned at the explanation.

"Why's that? Word around the house is that you and he stayed up drinking away your sorrows a few nights ago" he asked skeptically. The Jinchuuriki scowled and made a mental note to refrain from taking his weekly indulgences into the kitchen again.

"Because, I strangled our guest to the point of near-asphyxiation yesterday. She was present, and actually took action to save his life. In her mind, she's keeping him safe" he said as he thought back to his torture of the shadow user.

"Why'd you do that to him? Did he get on your nerves?" Kankuro asked. The Jinchuuriki thought for a moment.

"Temari decided to push her luck and get a bit mouthy, and since I'd rather not harm the potential heir apparent to the Kazekage's office, I decided to punish Shikamaru instead" he replied. His brother gave him an odd look.

"I have a few questions" he said. Gaara raised an eyebrow and sat up straight in his desk chair.

"Ask away, I suppose" he responded. Kankuro took a deep breath and gathered his words for a moment.

"First of all, what made you think that you hurting him would even bother her?" he started. The Jinchuuriki laughed a bit.

"Isn't it obvious? _Nothing_ had directly indicated that such a thing would affect her, but I had a hunch that it would, so I decided to find out if my intuition was correct. It was, more so than I had predicted it would be" he said concisely. His brother nodded.

"Okay, now explain to me why you called her a possible heir to the office. We all know that you're going to take up that position inside of six months" he requested. Gaara remained silent for a fair stretch before answering.

"As I told Temari, I'll likely be dead inside of fifteen years. Suna is not on the best of terms with the rest of the Hidden Village system, and given my controversial image politically, there will inevitably be attempts on my life. I need options" he said. Kankuro studied his brother closely and frowned.

"Can I speak freely?" he asked carefully. The Jinchuuriki nodded and gestured for him to continue on with what he intended to say.

"If I had to guess, the reason you're suddenly all over these future preparations is because you feel like you might die _soon_. We both know who and when, if that's the case" Kankuro said honestly. Gaara stared at him blankly.

"I have no intention of dying when he arrives. I simply recognize that Naruto is indeed a threat" he replied. The puppeteer shook his head and scooted his chair forward towards the redhead's desk.

"Don't try to lie to me, Gaara. Be honest" he pressed. The Jinchuuriki shifted uncomfortably in his seat and momentarily allowed his stress to become visible. Lines seemed to appear on his face out of nowhere, and the always-present circles under his eyes darkened a shade.

"I suppose you could say that I'm stuck between what is necessary, and what I want" he said vaguely, prompting his brother to gesture for an explanation. Gaara sighed heavily and stood up, making his way over to the far window of the room.

"I suppose I should define what I believe to be necessary. For the most part, that simply means maintaining our family's grip on the political system of Suna. As you likely know already, I dirtied my hands a bit two days ago. I killed five members of the council, and I've been taking measures to control who is elected to fill their seats" he began. Kankuro nodded and awaited further elaboration.

"As for what I want, that's a bit harder to pin down, even for me. What I do know is that my upcoming contest with Naruto may lead to what I desire" the redhead said, more to himself than his brother. Before Kankuro could question the meaning of the statement, Gaara produced a scroll and tossed it to him.

"Before you ask, read that. It should answer any questions you may have. It's the original reason I called you here. To evaluate the distribution of the contents written in that scroll" he said. The puppeteer looked it over for a few moments, closing it after completing a sweep through it's writings. He looked up at Gaara, a look of mixed emotion on his face.

"I understand"

* * *

Temari struggled to maintain her consciousness as she leaned against the wall to the left of Shikamaru's door. It was nearly two in the morning, and it had already been nearly forty-eight hours since she had last slept. Her exhaustion was perfectly justified, but that did not alter its level of tediousness. As her eyelids grew heavier, her posture degraded further. Slowly but surely, she began to slump forward. Luckily for her, she was snapped back to attention by the sound of the door by her side creaking open. The tired kunoichi glanced up and to her left, catching sight of Shikamaru, who was staring down at her from the doorway.

"What are you doing?" he asked with a sigh. Temari turned an uncharacteristic shade of red and drew her knees up to her chin.

"I lost the key to my room, so I came here" she lied defensively. The shadow user shook his head and stepped out of his room fully.

"You're a terrible liar. If you were locked out of your room, you'd be on one of the lounge couches" he pointed out. The fan wielder groaned and tipped onto her side.

"Why does it matter that I'm out here?" she asked. Shikamaru stepped around the girl's body and knelt down in front of her.

"If this situation were reversed, you'd be asking me all the same questions, and you'd probably have kicked me by now" he said. Temari sighed and pushed herself back into a verticle sitting position.

"Yeah, probably. I don't really feel like explaining why I'm out here, honestly. It's stupid" she said. The Nara shrugged.

"Could you do it anyway?" he asked. Temari pursed her lips and leaned back against the wall to think of a proper explanation for her presence.

"I'm watching your door in case Gaara decides to come finish what he started" she admitted begrudgingly. The shadow user raised an eyebrow, a ghost of a smirk tugging at his mouth.

"You're right, that is kind of stupid. Not that I don't appreciate the thought. You'd know if he came to kill me. I'd screech to notify you" he joked. The sand kunoichi stifled a laugh as her ability to stave off sleep waned once again.

"You'd definitely be a screamer. Still, I'd rather not take chances. Think of it as my way of repaying you for the bruises on your neck" she said. Shikamaru shook his head and took hold of her wrists. He then heaved her to her feet and slung one of her arms over his shoulder.

"You saved me from being skewered, so I think you've done enough. Get some sleep, Temari" he said as he guided her along back towards her room.

"I don't need your help walking" she grumbled despite the weakness of her sleep-deprived body. After a minute of slow meandering, the pair reached her door, which Shikamaru opened. He then directed her through the entrance and released her from his grip.

"Stay in here, sleep for eight hours, and then eat some food. Get back on schedule" he ordered as he stepped away from the doorframe. The fan wielder rubbed her eyes and leaned against the side of her door.

"Yeah, sure. If you're dead by morning, that's on you now" she said through a yawn. The shadow user chuckled and turned to begin walking down the hall.

"I'll still be alive. No worries" he said as he disappeared around a hallway corner. Temari watched him walk away for a moment before slinking into her room and shutting the door. She then made her way over to her bed and collapsed onto the mattress.

'You'd better be'

* * *

Naruto shivered a bit as he stared out into the horizon. The lights of Suna were just barely visible, but they still served as an unignorable distraction from sleep. As the lights flickered, premonitions of the personal war to come swirled around in Naruto's mind. From the look of madness that was bound to be plastered on Gaara's face to the inevitable taste of blood. The Jinchuuriki was equal parts dreadful and greatly anticipatory of the clash. Dreading for the risk it presented to his comrades, and anticipating for the sake of his own desire to end Gaara of the Desert's life.

'I think this might be the first time I've wanted to kill somebody' he thought to himself. Much to his surprise and discomfort, a familiar voice chimed in from the back of his mind.

'**It won't be the last. Grow used to this feeling' **the fox said bluntly. Naruto frowned and turned his attention inward to better hear the demon.

'What makes you say that? I'm not much of a hateful person' he asked skeptically. The nine-tails audibly snorted at the question.

'**Oh please. Human beings are naturally hateful creatures. You quarrel for the sake of quarreling, and you murder for the sake of murder. You'll find your reasons. Give it time' **he assured the blonde. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

'You say it like you didn't slaughter thousands when you attacked Konoha' he countered. The fox sighed and shifted in Naruto's mind.

'**There were things at work that night that you're far too young to understand. Besides, I've never made any claims that I don't enjoy blood and destruction. Humans are self-righteous and hypocritical. They always find ways to justify their atrocities' **he said. Before Naruto could respond, the sound of shifting sand caught his attention, prompting the fox to disappear into the depths of his mind once more. The Jinchuuriki turned around to face the sound, spotting Kurenai making her way towards him.

"Can't sleep?" she asked tiredly. Naruto nodded and returned his attention to the distant desert village.

"We're a few hours out from Suna. I'm honestly tempted to just go and get this over with" he said. The jonin gazed out at the lights and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I understand the feeling, but I'd prefer if you didn't. It would cost me my job" she said humorously. The Jinchuuriki cracked a smile.

"Can't have that, I guess. Still, it's tempting. He's just waiting there. He's ready to fight, and so am I" he said. Kurenai chuckled.

"For somebody who might be marching towards their death, you sure are eager" she commented. Naruto shrugged and stretched,

"As long as he's dead by the end of this, I don't care if this is where I die" he said bluntly. The genjutsu mistress winced at the brutally cynical nature of his words.

"I understand that you want him gone, but being willing to die for that goal kind of defeats the purpose, don't you think? Correct me if I'm wrong, but your motivation for getting rid of him is rooted in your love of your comrades, right? You should strive to survive to see the peace you might bring about" she countered. Naruto thought for a moment.

"Maybe, but I'd still be satisfied either way" he said. Kurenai sighed and gestured back towards the tents, where the Hyuga clan members slept.

"The two of them would rather you lived, especially Hinata. If not for yourself, then survive for them. Be considerate" she chided him. The blonde gave her a hard look.

"I may not have a choice. Gaara isn't somebody that can just be run over. I'm a lot stronger than you are, weird as that is to say, and I'm not convinced I can win without crippling myself to do it. Even if I try to come out of this in one piece, I might fail anyway" he said rigidly. The jonin put a hand on his shoulder.

"All I ask is that you try. Quite hard, preferably" she said, removing her hand from him once his tenseness had subsided. Naruto nodded and lapsed into silence, prompting Kurenai to follow suit. After a few minutes, she brought up a topic that she had been pondering.

"Did you know that, originally, Hinata was meant to be a part of my team instead of Kakashi's?" she asked. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"No, I didn't. That's news to me" he said. Kurenai thought back to the meeting in which the alterations to the cells were made.

"Hokage-sama reshuffled the teams at the last minute. None of the Jonin liked it, because we had to change our curriculum, but it's worked out so far" she explained. The Jinchuuriki considered the possibilities for a few seconds.

"Who was originally supposed to be on my team?" he asked curiously. The genjutsu mistress searched her mind for the answer, quickly finding it.

"Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha" she replied. Naruto's face twisted into a look of dissatisfaction at the revelation.

"I should thank the old man, then. Team Seven as it is wasn't easy right away, but it's worked out in the long run. Those two would have been a nightmare" he said. Kurenai nodded in agreement.

"That was Hokage-sama's argument. He said that Sasuke would likely clash with you indefinitely, and that Sakura was likely too incompetent as a combatant to fit correctly. It was the right call, if you ask me. With his Sharingan, Sasuke has a great talent for Genjutsu, and Sakura is a natural at medical ninjutsu" she said. The blonde scratched the side of his face pensively.

"Hinata and I went at each other hard for the first few months. It wasn't easy at all, and even after we came to terms with one another, she reverted again. It's been a process, but we're perfectly happy as we are now. Seems like Old Man knew it would work out in the end" he said ponderously. The jonin smiled.

"Hokage-sama is a wise man; more so than he'll ever be given credit for. He has a way of predicting what's to come that I'll never be able fully understand" she said reverently. A look of reminiscent pain flashed across Naruto's face.

"Maybe he knew that things would turn out for the better, but there's no way he knew how dark and painful the way there would be. Not that I blame him. Nobody could have seen even half of what went down coming" he said quietly. Kurenai frowned.

"I saw what happened during the chunin exams between you two, and that was definitely dark, but you make it sound like there was more than that" she said. The Jinchuuriki stared up into the night sky.

"Lets just say that Hinata isn't quite as prim and proper as she comes off. She's a wonderful person at her core, but that rose has some poisonous thorns. Not that my issues didn't play a role too, because they definitely did" he said. The genjutsu mistress looked to Hinata's tent, and then back to Naruto.

"Maybe...Hokage-sama was aware of that darkness that she keeps under wraps. Maybe he thought you were up to the task of wading through it and finding her goodness" she suggested thoughtfully. The Jinchuuriki kicked around the sand at his feet.

"If that's the case, then he really rolled the dice. I almost broke multiple times along the way. It was all worth it, I came to love Hinata in the end, but if a few things had gone differently in my mind, I might have let Gaara kill me the first time around" he said honestly. Kurenai gazed at him, her eyes a tad wide.

'What in the world _happened_ between them? _Jesus Christ_' she wondered to herself. She then forced herself to think positively once again.

"Well, through all of that, you can be sure of one thing. That girl _loves _you. The way she looks at you, the way her voice gets a little softer when she speaks about you, it's all so genuine. Never question her feelings. They're more real than anything else about her, that queenly facade included" she said reassuringly. Naruto nodded and rubbed his eyes, sleep finally seeming to have arrived to claim him. He began to walk back towards his tent, but stopped and turned around to say one last thing.

"I had reasons to before, but I don't now. There are some pains that'll never go away, but that's been my life story. Unlike the rest of it, though, Hinata's voice makes me glad I woke up in the morning, not regret that I did at all"

* * *

**A/N: The final conflict of this story begins the next chapter, so buckle up. Gaara vs Naruto 2 starts in chapter 47. Hope you enjoyed this one too. Tell me what you thought :)**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	47. Various Vendettas

**A/N: Well, it's time to begin the final fight of House of Glass. These next few chapters are going to be long, and they're going to be incredibly violent/graphic. This chapter will contain a bit of nicety, but it'll be the last of the fic until the final chapter.**

**Time for chapter 47**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

An ominous wind blew across the desert floor as Kurenai, Hinata, Neji, and Naruto stood before the gates of Sunagakure. It was early morning, and the sun had yet to rise. The pair of guards standing at the entrance to the civilization wore matching looks of reserved apprehension, seemingly well aware of the identities of the Konoha shinobi marching towards them. Preferring not to partake in idle chatter, Kurenai signaled to the pair of Hyuga children. In an instant, Neji and Hinata were behind the two guards with a hand pressed to their spines. The Suna Shinobi promptly fell face first to the ground, completely unconscious.

"That takes care of that. Now, we need to move quickly. Assumption is that Shikamaru is in the Kazekage's Estate. That building is around three miles from where we are now. If we go now, we can be there in fifteen minutes" the jonin said to the group of genin, who all gave a nod of affirmation. The cell then set out down the lengthy canyon that led into Suna.

They traveled in silence for nearly two minutes until buildings became visible at the end of the small canyon. What caused the party halt in their tracks, however, was not the architecture.

"We have company" Kurenai muttered under her breath, her voice only loud enough to be heard by her comrades. Standing at the precipice of the Village Hidden in the Sand was a man wearing a Jonin vest. Half of his face was concealed by a cloth, and he was tall in stature. He assessed the group of ninja before him carefully, weary of any potential trickery.

"Gaara-sama has ordered me to prevent the entry of all but a shinobi by the name of Naruto Uzumaki. If that title belongs to you, scurry along. If not, don't move from your current position" he said solemnly. Neji raised an eyebrow.

"That's some confidence on your end. Are you really so sure that you could keep myself, Hinata-sama, and Kurenai-san out of Suna by yourself? Personally, I don't like your chances" he asked. The sand Jonin's eye twitched, his left hand slowly drifting towards his kunai pouch. A moment later, Kurenai had vanished from sight along with the sand Jonin. The pair reappeared a few feet away straining against one another with drawn blades.

"You three move on ahead. I'll keep this one occupied" she said in a rushed tone. The genin needed no other prompting; they quickly bolted past the jonin into the village. Kurenai then pushed away from her opponent and kicked him in the chest, sending him to the sandy ground.

"You never planned on stopping them, did you?" she asked. The man dusted himself off and chuckled while he rose back to his feet.

"No, not really. Gaara-sama has a specific image in mind for how this little scuffle is supposed to happen, and I intend to help bring it to fruition. It's the least I can do" he said as he prepared himself for battle. The genjutsu mistress raised an eyebrow.

"And what does that image entail?" she asked skeptically. The sand shinobi responded by launching a kunai past her face.

"He thrives in chaos. Those little gremlins of yours are bound to create some if left to roam free in the village. Even if he steals Naruto away to a remote location, the knowledge of the pandemonium back home will fuel him" he explained as he and Kurenai engaged one another in hand-to-hand. After a brief scuffle, the Konoha jonin's head was snapped back by a hard punch, sending her back a few steps. Kurenai rubbed her cheek and grit her teeth.

'This...might take awhile'

* * *

Gaara cracked his neck and stood up from his desk. It was nearly time. Long had he waited, and now his patience would be rewarded. He glanced over to the corner of his study, locking onto his gourd and making his way over toward it. He smoothly strapped it over his shoulder and allowed a bit of sand to hover around him. After looking himself over and concluding that his appearance was satisfactory, the redhead turned toward the door.

As he began to take steps toward the exit of his study, the door opened, revealing a frazzled-looking maid. The Jinchuuriki stopped walking and studied the stressed girl, who, upon further inspection, was the very same maid that had run into Gaara in the hallway the day he had slaughtered the council.

"May I help you?" he asked. The girl flinched and snapped to attention, bowing deeply and shaking a bit. After a moment of awkward silence on her end, the maid spoke.

"T-those ninja you warned us of have arrived, G-Gaara-sama. They have entered the village" she reported quickly. Gaara nodded and called his sand back into his gourd.

"Yes, I am well aware. I'm only interested in one of those ninja, but the others will be dealt with. You may want to head home. Things are about to become a bit wild in the estate" he suggested as he straightened the knick knacks on his desk. Much to his surprise, the maid shook her head.

"No, if things are going to go down the drain, then I'll have lots to clean up. I think I'll stay" she said firmly. Gaara raised an eyebrow and looked to the girl quizzically, prompting her to freeze up once more.

"What's your name?" he asked. The maid fumbled over her own tongue for an embarrassing length of time before finally rediscovering her voice.

"M-Maizono Hiyama, sir" she said, bowing once more. The Jinchuuriki then shuffled through his desk drawer for a moment before producing a checkbook and scribbling on one of the bank statements. He then ripped it out of the book and offered it to Maizono. The girl shakily took the slip and looked it over, her eyes widening to saucers as she did so.

"This is...what is this for, Gaara-sama?" she asked in a dumbfounded tone. The redhead shrugged and slowly walked past her towards the door.

"Your loyal service. Consider it a backroom bonus" he said as he stepped out into the hallway. Maizono stumbled out into the hallway after him and called out.

"Gaara-sama!" she exclaimed, catching his attention and earning an over-the-shoulder glance from her superior.

"Yes?" he asked. Maizono smiled and bowed for the third time in five minutes, the check now tucked into her maid's dress.

"Good luck" she said meekly. The Jinchuuriki shook his head and turned his gaze back to the corridor before him to continue his trek.

"I appreciate the thought, but my luck has very much run out, Maizono-san"

* * *

Naruto wore a scowl as he and the pair of Hyuga ran towards the Kazekage Estate. Despite having never seen the building before, it was clearly identifiable by the large symbol for 'Sand Shadow' on its front. As they approached the brooding mansion, the already-eerie silence of the streets grew even more defined. Neji in particular seemed bothered by the lack of activity and sound.

"You could hear a pin drop. From what my eyes are showing me, the general populace has retreated into their homes. It seems they've been expecting us. Possibly for quite some time" he reported. Hinata nodded in agreement and remained vigilant as they journeyed on. The closer they drew to the Estate, the more the air seemed to deaden around them.

"Gaara is nearby. No other chakra can bring the ecosystem to a standstill like this" the heiress muttered to her comrades. Naruto, clearly keyed in on that fact, stopped running and held out an arm. Neji and Hinata ceased running behind him and gave him questioning looks. Before either one could as the obvious question, it was answered for them.

"Sharp senses, Naruto. Not that I made this little game of hide-and-seek difficult for you"

The Hyuga children both flinched and turned their attention upwards to the roof of the Kazekage Estate, where Gaara of the Desert stood. His eyes were fixed on his fellow Jinchuuriki down below and nothing else. Reading into his body language facial expression revealed a disturbingly simplistic emotion. _Hunger_

Hinata shuddered as her teammate and most reliable confidant stared at Gaara. Suddenly, both Neji and herself felt very, _very _small. The scale of the two powers before them was abundantly clear. After another stretch of unbearable silence, the elevated redhead spoke.

"Let's take this somewhere a bit more private, Naruto. I'd like to avoid any risk of peasantry distraction. I know just the place to host this fine spectacle" he called out to the blonde. He vanished from sight, reappearing in front of Naruto and seizing his wrist. Before any of the Konoha genin could react, the pair of Jinchuuriki disappeared into a puff of smoke.

Once they had regained their bearings, Neji and Hinata activated their dojutsu and searched the area for their comrade and Gaara, with the elder of the two Hyuga finding them at the edge of his visual range.

"They're around a mile away, just outside the southern border of the village" he said. The heiress pursed her lips and glanced back at the Estate.

"Follow them, Neji-san. Should Naruto-kun fall in battle, deposit him somewhere and pick up where he left off" she ordered. The Hyuga boy furrowed his eyebrows and gave his cousin a skeptical look.

"Understood, but what will you do in the meantime?" he asked. Hinata took a deep breath and began a slow walk towards the daunting building before them.

"I'm going to retrieve Nara-san" she said simply. Neji raised an eyebrow and turned the vision of his Byakugan towards the building.

"The Estate is largely empty, but three fairly distinct signatures still remain. One of them is clearly Nara-san, and the other two-" he began.

"-are Temari and Kankuro. Yes, I am aware" Hinata cut in as she stepped onto the welcome mat of the large dwelling. Her cousin studied her for a moment.

"Is this calm you're exuding born of confidence, or of resignation?" he asked pointedly. The heiress gave a rare chuckle and opened the front door.

"Oh, I am quite confident, and I have a bone to pick with the girl who kidnapped Nara-san. She's the reason we're here at all" she said in a low growl.

As she entered the Estate, a small strand of electricity sparked from the hand that hung at her side.

* * *

The sun had begun to rise by the time Naruto and Gaara stared at each other from across a small desert plain. There were no obstructions to divert the wind, and the wind was high, allowing for a chilling cold to set in over the desert. The sun peaking over the horizon created shadows of both Jinchuuriki, which crossed over one another symmetrically.

"What an atmosphere this is. Silent, but oh so tense. Just perfect" the redhead commented. Naruto narrowed his eyes and assumed a taijutsu stance.

"You talk too much" he said in an irritated tone. Gaara chuckled a bit and called his sand to action. The sediment leaked out of his gourd and swirled around him as he closed his eyes. When the sadistic demon container reopened his eyes, they were a deep gold color that Naruto knew all too well.

"In that case, we'll skip the formalities. Don't even think about concealing the fox from me this time. I'll kill you and those two ants you brought along if you do" he said menacingly. Needing no further encouragement, Naruto unleashed a shockwave of burning chakra from his body that manifested itself in a translucent coating of chakra. A split-second later, his fist was buried in Gaara's stomach.

"You're going to regret giving me that advice" he growled in his adversary's ear. Before the redhead could even open his mouth to reply, Naruto removed his fist from his abdomen and used the hand to pull his head down into the point of his knee. Gaara stumbled back a step and attempted to regain his bearings, but was cracked across the right side of his jaw by a hooking left-handed punch from the blonde that took away his legs.

Naruto caught him by the front of his shirt just before his back could touch the ground, pulling him back into an upright position. Gaara's vertical positioning only lasted a second or two, as he was quickly launched backwards by a kick to his upper chest. The blonde blitzed after him, his figure blurring due to his own raw speed. As he loaded up to strike Gaara, whom he was now behind, the sand beneath his feet shifted and knocked him off balance. As a result of this disruption, the sand shinobi flew past him and flipped in the air.

Gaara smoothly landed on his feet and dusted himself off, an easy smile on his face as Naruto struggled to regain his footing in the suddenly-animated sand he was standing on.

"I hope you got that out of your system, because I'm not giving you any more free shots" he said as he made subtle motions with his hand to shift the sand underneath his foe. Quickly growing irritated by his lack of firm footing, Naruto grunted and sent the sand around him up into the air with a pulse of the fox's energy. With his feet now firmly planted on uncontrolled sand, the Jinchuuriki of the Leaf pushed off the ground and threw himself at Gaara.

Unlike before, however, the redhead's sand was nimble enough to intercept him before he could strike the sediment's master. Naruto's fist slammed into a solid wall of particalized earth, and despite a herculean effort, he couldn't break through it.

"What the hell is this stuff?" he demanded as he struggled to pull his arm out of the cloud of sand, which had wrapped itself around his wrist. Gaara grinned and whipped the blonde up into the air by his arm.

"I added some ground-down gold to this mixture. An old trick my father used to use against me" he explained. A moment later, he slammed a pillar of compressed sand into Naruto's back. The impact of the sand knocked all of the wind out of the Konoha genin's lungs and stunned him. Taking advantage of his enemy's momentarily compromised state, Gaara unraveled the pillar of sand and wrapped it around Naruto's ankle.

The blonde was promptly slammed face-first into the desert floor, with the impact sending vibrations through the surrounding environment. Gaara then released Naruto from his sand's grip. His fellow Jinchuuriki was lying in a small sand crater, unmoving and silent. For a decent stretch of time, no noise came from the crater.

'There's no way that killed him. He can take more punishment. I know he can' Gaara thought to himself, his eyes narrowed and focused on the location of his opponent. Eventually, a stirring sound came from the crater. A moment after the small sound, a roar of defiance erupted from the hole in the ground. Naruto then leapt out of the crater, his body aflame with burning red chakra. The fox's energy mended his wounds as he sailed down to the ground, earning a smirk from Gaara.

"Oh good, I was just beginning to think I may have killed you before either one of us could begin to put in any semblance of effort" the redhead said with a mocking applause. Naruto responded by crossing his arms in front of himself and clenching his jaw.

"First Gate: Gate of Opening, open!" he yelled. A powerful wind then flew across the battlefield. Seeming to ride the gust of air, Naruto instantly crossed the distance between himself and Gaara to clatter his temple with a right-handed punch. The strike turned the sand shinobi's head away from the blonde, prompting him to slash his exposed cheek with his left hand's claws. The cutting motion sent a spray of blood from the redhead's cheek, painting his face to match his hair.

In a desperate bid to defend himself, Gaara lowered his levels, planted his feet, and swung back with a clubbing counter to the left side of Naruto's jaw that connected utterly flush. The gambit paid off beautifully, as the Konoha genin was forced to take a step back due to the unexpected impact. This allotted Gaara just enough time to erect a sand barrier and scamper backwards to recreate distance. Naruto predictably pursued him with another forward charge, but Gaara had set a nasty trap for him.

"Some variation might help you!" he yelled, slamming a hand into his side of the sand barrier. The Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki was then intercepted by a wall of sedimentary spikes, much like he had been during their first encounter. The serrated protrusions missed his face by inches, and only failed to impale him by virtue of the blonde's heightened reaction time allowing him to stop himself in the knick of time. Realizing that he was in grave danger, Naruto leapt backwards nearly twenty feet and landed just outside of the spikes' range, which had extended after him when he had jumped.

The Ninja studied one another intently in a mutual search for weaknesses and deficiencies. When no new answers to the problems before them were found, they began to circle one another in a battle for positional advantage. Once again, they stalemated. Despite their differences on every personal front, they functioned identically as combatants. Constantly calculating, always probing. Never a moment's rest. Then, something that even Naruto hadn't considered happened.

For the first time since Naruto had initially encountered Gaara, the sadistic Jinchuuriki began to weave hand seals

* * *

Shikamaru snapped awake at the sound of splintering wood. Due to the lack of windows in his sleeping quarters, he was not afforded the luxury of using the sky as reference for time. Luckily, the shadow user had cultivated a keen internal clock during his time as a hostage. According to his estimation, it was roughly six in the morning, just thirty minutes before his general wake-up time. As he rubbed his eyes, a loud banging sound came from what sounded like the base floor.

The Nara immediately jumped to his feet and rushed out of his room. As he surged down the hallway, he noticed something else odd. There were no service workers. The corridor was entirely empty and silent.

'Okay, something is _very_ wrong here' he thought to himself frantically. After a brief run, he reached the dining hall. Much to his relief, Temari and Kankuro were standing in the center of it. Their postures were telling, with both of them rigidly staring down the eastern hall. His rapid footsteps caught their attention and turned their heads.

"Look who's finally awake" Kankuro said sarcastically. Shikamaru bounded over to the siblings and joined them in looking into the east hall.

"What's going on?" he asked seriously. The puppeteer pursed his lips and flinched as another loud crashing sound echoed into the dining room.

"I think your friends are here to take you home" he said tensely. The shadow user felt a wave of unexpectedly mixed emotions wash over him. After taking a moment to gather himself, Shikamaru spoke.

"If that's the case, then Gaara has likely engaged Naruto not too far from here. God, I should wake up earlier" he muttered. Temari then opened her mouth for the first time since his arrival.

"It sounds like hell downstairs. There's gotta be at least three Konoha ninja in the building" she said, a twinge of nervousness creeping into her voice. Shikamaru shook his head.

"If Gaara and Naruto are fighting, then I'm going to assume that at least one of the four people they sent to get me are with him as backup. There are two people tops" he corrected. Kankuro sighed.

"Why are we even discussing this? All we need to do is hand you over and this is done" he pointed out. The lazy genin nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, so let's cut down on the property damage. One of you needs to show me the way to the lobby, because Gaara never let me leave the upper level" he said. Kankuro then motioned for Shikamaru to follow him, a silent order that the shadow user followed. Before either he or the brother of Gaara could walk five steps, Temari took hold of his wrist.

"No, we aren't just going to croak and hand him over. I hate that idea" she said firmly. Kankuro scowled and glared at his sister.

"What? He isn't even our ninja. We have no right to have him in our home to begin with, not to mention that it's illegal. We aren't 'croaking'. We're keeping up our end of the deal, which was that if Naruto showed up and gave Gaara the fight he wanted, we would let this loser leave" he said impatiently. The fan wielder opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a guard stumbling into the dining hall from the east hall.

The man was battered, and appeared to be on his last legs. He collapsed roughly five feet from the group, prompting Kankuro to rush to his side.

"What's the situation down there? Give me all the detail you can without straining yourself" he asked quickly. The guard coughed painfully, but eventually found his voice.

"S-some girl wearing a leaf headband showed up. W-we tried to ask her questions, but s-she just started attacking us. We had fifteen men at the start, I think we're down to n-nine now" he said through ragged breaths. Shikamaru's eyes widened.

'Hinata? Why is _she_ here? If it was going to be anybody, I expected Lee or Neji' he thought to himself. The shadow user knelt down beside the injured guard.

"Is she alone, or is she being assisted?" he asked. The guard propped himself up on his elbows and glanced down the hall.

"She was all alone. She's making people keel over just by touching their midsection" he recalled shakily. Shikamaru nodded and gently pushed the man's back flat to the floor.

"That's definitely Hinata. Just about the last person I expected to be coming after me" he said to the siblings. Temari prickled at the revelation.

"Oh? In that case, even more reason to resist letting her have you" she said rigidly. Her words reignited the debate that had been previously interrupted.

"What's gotten into you? Why are you so hellbent on making this harder than it has to be? From the sounds of it, this chick is _killing _our guards. We don't need to take any unnecessary losses" Kankuro snapped. Shikamaru sighed.

"Look, I don't know what your reasoning is, but it can't possibly justify the damage Hinata will cause if you aggravate her further" he said, a tad more gently than Kankuro had. The fan wielder opened and began to respond, but was once again interrupted before she could speak. This time, instead of an injured guard literally appearing, a scream of pain ripped through the hallway. The noise prompted Kankuro to draw a kunai.

"You know what? Screw this argument. I'm going to go save our guards. When you finally come to your senses, bring him out to the lobby" he said. At that, he sprinted down the hallway and rounded the corner to the stairwell. Shikamaru gritted his teeth and stepped forward to follow him, but was once again grabbed by the wrist.

"Now is _not_ the time, Temari. Don't push my patience" he growled. The sand kunoichi tightened her grip on him.

"Stay in here. I'm going to go help him. Just don't move, okay?" she requested as she grabbed her fan off the table and prepared to leave.

"And why shouldn't I? I'm with Kankuro on this. Why are you bent on trying to fight Hinata rather than just letting me leave and ending this mess?" he demanded. Temari flinched, but maintained her composure.

"I'll explain it to you once this is all over" she said, turning to leave as she spoke. This time, Shikamaru seized _her _wrist and spun her around.

"No, we aren't playing the waiting game. Spill it. What's your motive? What could you possibly have to gain from this? You aren't this stupid, I know you aren't" he asked. The sand kunoichi gazed at him for a few moments before sighing defeatedly and relaxing.

"It's even more idiotic than the reason why I brought you to Suna. Well, it relates to it, but it's still worse" she said. The shadow user nodded and urged her to continue. After a brief pause, she did just that.

"I've gotten used to having you around here. I've gotten used to arguing with you, glaring at you, the works. But, more than that, I really don't feel like giving up my first positive relationship of the last decade. Even under circumstances like this" she admitted shamefully. Shikamaru gave her an odd look.

"Would you really call our dynamic 'positive'?" he asked skeptically. Much to his embarrassment and surprise, Temari gently laid a hand on the back of his head and delicately pulled him forward until they were forehead-to-forehead.

"To me, absolutely. Whether you've meant to or not, you've given me more peace than I've ever had the luxury of having. You're a great distraction from the whirlwind of stress that is my day-to-day life. That hug you gave me after Gaara choked you half to death made me feel safer than I'd care to admit" she said warmly, a rare smile on her face. The Nara lowered his eyes to the ground.

"Well, I'm glad you feel that way, you deserve to be happy, but I can't stay here. You know that as well as I do" he said. Temari released his head from her grip and backed up a step.

"I know, believe me, I know. I don't want to imprison you here. You don't deserve to be confined. But, I...don't think I'm ready to let you leave just yet" she said, her face a tad red. Shikamaru tensed at the sound of Kankuro crying out in pain from the lower floor.

"I don't mean to be harsh, but you not being ready doesn't really play into how this goes down" he said bluntly. The fan wielder nodded and stepped forward once more.

"I'll make you a deal. Your teammate will probably have mopped the floor with Kankuro by the time I make it down stairs, so I'll be facing her alone. If she can put me down, you're free to go. If I manage to fight her off, I get to keep you here for just a little longer. In Suna, not the Estate. You'd be free to roam" she explained. Shikamaru weighed his options for a moment

'My guess is that she'll probably _win_ that fight. She knows it too, but me staying of my own accord might help repair village relations in the long run' he pondered. After a quick internal debate, he found his answer.

"Deal" he said simply, holding out a hand to his captor. Temari nodded and shook the hand. She then turned around and sprinted towards the stairwell leading to the lobby. The shadow user waited until her footsteps were no longer audible before letting out a heavy sigh.

'It isn't even seven in the morning and today already sucks'

* * *

**A/N: Yes, this chapter was very long and a lot of things happened. Next chapter will be much the same, but only focused on two things instead of, like, five. Tell me what you thought of this one in a review!**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	48. Unbroken

**A/N: This one's gonna be long again, and it's going to be violent as hell. There will be blood, injuries, and even a death.**

**Time for chapter 48**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Wind Style: Great Breach!"

These were the words that drilled themselves into Naruto's eardrums as he was taken off his feet by a condensed blast of wind. The impact of the jutsu sent him flying backwards at blistering speed across the desert, with his body periodically bouncing off the ground like a skipping stone over a river. Before he could fly more than one hundred feet, however, his momentum was brought to a brutal, swift halt by a grip on his neck.

The seizing of his throat froze him mid air, but his lower half still tried to follow his lost kinetic energy, causing his neck and head to be used as an anchor of sorts. Once the wind had died down, Naruto's body hung limp. Despite struggling against the vice on his windpipe, the blonde could not free himself. Upon further inspection by the Konoha Jinchuuriki, the thing holding his neck was a limb of Gaara's sand that extended from his perpetually floating defensive cloud.

'Figures…' he thought to himself as he was slowly reeled in towards the redhead. After a painful journey through the air, he dangled before Gaara with a look of strained defiance on his face. The sand shinobi, who looked quite pleased with himself, chuckled a bit at the sight.

"You looked a tad surprised when I began making signs. Did you think I had no other jutsu?" he jeered. As Naruto opened his mouth to snap back at him, Gaara slammed a fist into his liver, causing the blonde to tense up and grimace.

"Well, you're almost right if that's what you think. 'Great Breach' isn't even my Jutsu. It belongs to my Tailed-Beast, Shukaku. But then, your selection of Jutsu isn't all that varied either" he said mockingly. Naruto growled and speared his left knee upwards. The point of his kneecap slammed into the bottom of Gaara's chin, snapping his head upwards. Much to his chagrin, his foe did not step back or release his neck.

"Cute, but not recommendable" the redhead said with a smirk. He then cracked his fellow Jinchuuriki across the left side of his jaw. The punch split Naruto's bottom lip and loosened one of his teeth, causing blood to leak down his chin. The sight of the plasma drew a mirthless laugh from Gaara.

"We're less than twenty minutes into this and you're already looking like you were put through a woodchipper. Am I really having that much of an effect on you?" he asked. Naruto began to speak, but found himself only able to croak. The slow constriction of his oxygen supply had taken its toll. The redhead gave his opponent a bored look.

"Are you really beginning to die?" he asked. When he was given no response, he sighed and tapped the sandy ground with his foot. Much of the foundation on which the ninja had fought on then melted away, leaving a massive, deep hole in the desert. Gaara himself still stood on a platform of his own sand, allowing him to float over the crater.

"If you're going to be overcome by nothing but a stranglehold, then perhaps this wasn't worth the trouble. You can fight harder than this" Gaara growled as Naruto twitched. The redhead then dangled him out further.

"Fine. If you can't bring yourself to put in some effort, then I'll _force _you" he said. Gaara promptly released his grip on the konoha genin's neck, allowing him to fall into the depths below.

"Don't let yourself be felled by nothing more than gravity. I'll drag you back from the depths of hell just to kill you again if you do"

* * *

Naruto inhaled desperately as oxygen became available to him once again. After a moment of rapid air intake, his muscles began to respond to his commands. The blonde flipped mid-air and faced the ground below him, which was roughly fifty feet away by this point. Naruto braced for the impact and rolled forward upon contact with the ground, decreasing the force of his fall significantly. Slowly but surely, Naruto forced himself to his feet, turning his attention to the sun above.

'He's still stronger than me. Even after all that preparation, he's still too much' he thought to himself, frustration dominating his emotions. He glanced down at his hands, which were still glowing with red chakra.

'I could try using the higher stage of the fox, but can't maintain it for very long, and Gaara is barely trying as is. He can match me for strength' he pondered.

'**Keep in mind, he draws his power from the same place you do. He likely can't sustain his maximum for very long either, and in a battle of cardiovascular endurance, there are very few humans who I'd genuinely favor over you' **the fox pointed out. The blonde nodded.

'Yeah, that's true, but I think your chakra damages my body more than his does for him' he countered. The demon shook his head at the reply.

'**The way he approaches combat suggests the opposite. He only fights in bursts. That sand of his isn't entwined with chakra. It literally**_** is**_** a separate entity that acts on his behalf. He willingly allows his opponents to break themselves on his defenses and durability while he searches for one perfect opportunity' **he explained. Naruto considered the information for a moment.

'I'm not sure how I'm supposed to approach this. I can't kill him with one shot, and the longer I smash myself against him, the more likely it is that he skewers me or rips my head off with his sand' he said. The fox sighed and began to retreat back into his mind.

'**I've given you what advice I can, and I'm giving you access to my chakra. The rest is up to you. Figure it out' **he said before fading away completely. The moment the demon's presence was entirely gone, Naruto suddenly felt very small. The sun beat above beat into his eyes, and the shadows of the crater around him gave him a sense of claustrophobia. Then, as discomfort a twinge of fear began to set in, a cold voice cut through the silence.

"Not too long ago, I was in the same position you're in right now. Unsure, in search of an answer that refuses to present itself. I'll admit it, I even wanted to hide like you're doing now. But, I can feel that you're still alive down there, Naruto. I know that you fear me, but _face_ that fear. Hate me, _despise _me if you must" Gaara called from above. Despite the distance between them, his words felt as though they had been whispered directly into his ear. A cold shiver traveled down his spine.

'If that's how you want it, then _fine_' he thought to himself, coming to a silent decision. He then took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His body was slowly encased in demonic chakra in the shape of a pair of tails. The blonde then leapt up into the air. With his renewed dynamism, the force of his jump sent him sailing upward. After roughly ten seconds of vertical travel, Naruto emerged from the massive sinkhole. As he momentarily floated in the air, he locked eyes with Gaara, who wore a dark smile.

The blonde then redirected his momentum to make himself fall far left towards the opposite edge of the chasm. He landed mere feet from the dropoff, but despite his position, Naruto rose to his feet without scurrying backwards. After dusting himself off a bit, he turned his glare across the massive sinkhole to the opposite edge, where Gaara stood.

"So this is the power you used to stand against Orochimaru. The more power you draw from the fox, the more you resemble it. How fascinating" the sadistic Jinchuuriki commented from across the chasm.

"And it'll be the last thing you see" Naruto growled, dropping to a quadrupedal stance as he spoke. Gaara's posture remained unchanged as his foe prepared to attack, a silent challenge that Naruto gladly accepted. He immediately vanished from sight, reappearing behind Gaara a fraction of a second later. Before the redhead could react, Naruto severed his head with a swipe of his serrated claws. The instant his head was removed from his shoulders, Gaara's body dispersed into a cloud of sand.

'Sand clone' Naruto growled in his mind. He was then tapped on the shoulder, prompting his reflexes to kick in. The blonde swatted aside the entity behind him with one of his chakra tails, who also dissipated into sand.

"Come out and fight, you wretch" he growled as he scanned the area around him. After a moment, Gaara's cold chuckle became audible to his left. Naruto turned his attention to the sound and rotated to face it. Rising from the ground like an ethereal spirit was Gaara, who, despite his apparent residence beneath the sand, was perfectly clean save for the blood crusting on his face.

"I'm relieved you were able to find within yourself to come back to the surface. This would have been such an _edging_ experience if you hadn't" he said mockingly. The remark drew a tilt of Naruto's head.

"Oh yeah? If that's the case, then why don't _you_ quit keeping _me_ waiting? Show me what you were hiding last time. I showed you my hand, now show me yours" he said. The redhead smirked.

"Well, if you _insist_…" he said smoothly. Gaara's sand then froze in the air around him. A low humming sound then began to reverberate through the environment. Suna's Jinchuuriki then began to change physically. His canines lengthened into fangs, his muscle mass increased subtly, and strange black markings appeared on his body all at once. Unlike the tattoos of the curse mark, which spread at random across its host's body, Gaara's new markings were very much organized.

They began underneath his eyes and cascaded down his face in a symmetrical pattern that held true down to his wrists. Alongside those changes, his body was now outlined with a red glow that periodically flickered. Naruto felt a bead of sweat trickle down his face. The chakra emanating from Gaara was cripplingly dense, and seemed to thin the oxygen in the air. Sensing his discomfort like a shark smelling blood, the Demon of the Desert spoke.

"So, what do you think of it? You're only the third person to have laid eyes on me in this state. Am I everything you expected?" he asked, his voice an octave deeper than it had been previously. The blonde forced a smile onto his face.

"Everything and more" he said. The moment the sentence had left his mouth, he burst forward with a punch aimed for the center of Gaara's forehead. Much to his shock and dismay, his foe did not move from his spot. Instead, he simply caught Naruto's wrist six inches from his face. The blonde growled and tried to force his fist forward despite the grip to no avail.

"Perhaps I should have warned you. My physicality is no longer an issue" Gaara said with a grin. He then tightened his hold on Naruto's wrist and yanked him off balance. As he stumbled forward, Gaara kicked out his legs and tossed him to the ground. Naruto rolled to his knees to moment his back touched the ground. As he tried to rise to his feet, Gaara viciously kicked him across the face with his right foot.

The strike momentarily separated Naruto from consciousness, causing his legs to fold in on themselves. Gaara's sand caught his briefly-limp body before it could fully crumple and lifted him off the ground by his wrists.

"I'm a monster the likes of which you were not and never could have been ready to face alone. I'm no Orochimaru, but I'm _much_ stronger than you are" the redhead said bluntly as Naruto dangled before him with his eyes cloudy from the concussion he had been dealt. Gaara then proceeded to throw him high into the air before picking him out of the sky with another limb of sand that batted him down towards the earth. Naruto crashed into the sand with a painful 'thud', crying out in pain upon landing.

With his vision darkening and his body aching, he once again forced himself to stand and face Gaara. The redhead was casually strolling towards him, seemingly without a care in the world.

'I can't beat him like this. He's tougher, stronger, and maybe even faster. I need more power, and I need it quickly' he thought to himself raggedly. An obvious plan then hatched in his mind.

'What are the chances that three tails will kill me?' he asked the demon in his mind. After a moment's consideration, the fox gave his grim estimation.

'**Sixty, maybe seventy percent. But, weighed against the chances of this Gaara killing you as you are now, I'd say that those odds are favorable'** he responded flatly. Naruto sighed and widened his stance.

"Let's roll the dice" he muttered to himself. Naruto then forced a massive quantity of demonic chakra into his body from the depths of the fox. Sand at his feet began to melt as another tail-esque structure manifested itself behind him. Much to Naruto's surprise, the pain he experienced was brief as he transformed further.

'I guess my nerve endings finally died' he joked to himself. He then returned his attention to Gaara, who had stopped advancing on him. The redhead was now watching him intently, a look of morbid curiosity on his face.

"A stage beyond, hm? I'll take that as a sign of respect" he said in an anticipatory tone. At this, Naruto charged forward and attacked Gaara. His leading strike was a straight punch targeting the redhead's jaw, the left side specifically. Gaara's metallic sand deflected the punch just enough to make it miss by inches. As he surged past the redhead, Gaara attempted to counter his entry into range with a wide right-handed punch, but Naruto ducked under the return fire and planted his feet to stop his momentum.

The boys were now positioned two feet from one another, well within Gaara's defenses. Taking advantage of the opportunity, and the fact that he had just made his foe miss, Naruto snapped off two hard punches, the first merely flashed in Gaara's face to draw a reaction, and the second, a fully extended overhand, capitalizing on the redhead's instinctual flinch. The punch slammed into Gaara's cheek hard, bruising it and forcing a backwards step out of him.

Naruto attempted to build on the success with a wide, hooking left-handed punch, but he was met down the centerline by a clean punch that clipped off his chin and momentarily dropped him to one knee. Gaara smartly took the opportunity to retreat a few steps and send his sand into action. The blonde was able to flip backwards to avoid being crushed by the particles of earth, but was still grazed by a small horde of sand that cut open his forehead.

'It's like a bunch of microscopic razor blades' he thought to himself in frustration. He wiped blood from his face and flicked it onto the sand.

'He hits hard. Way harder than he did before. He grazed me and my legs just gave out. I have to play this carefully. I'm faster now, and it seems like I can sting him with shots, but I can't exchange with him. I have to get in and get out without being hit' he thought to himself.

With a plan in mind, Naruto leapt forward.

* * *

Neji wrung his hands nervously as Naruto and Gaara played a game of immensely high-stakes chess. The dynamic of their fight at its current stage had been set by Naruto almost immediately. He would enter into range, using sheer speed to bypass Gaara's sand, potshot, and move out of range again. For the most part, it had worked out well for the blonde, as he hadn't been touched in the last five minutes.

'He's chosen the right tact for this scenario, but it also puts him on a hamster wheel. He can't afford to fully commit to his strikes, so he isn't really damaging Gaara. He can't kill him this way' Neji lamented as Naruto snapped Gaara's head back with a sharp punch and angled out. Despite the desperate circumstances, the Hyuga couldn't help but marvel at the brilliance of his comrade's prowess.

'His form is a bit odd on most of his strikes, but he's a truly protean striker. He can move, he's a perfectly competent pocket operator, and he builds off of his pre-established threats organically. More than that, if he finds something that works, he beats that drum till it breaks' he thought to himself. As the thought crossed his mind, Naruto was swatted sideways by a wave of sand. Fortunately, he was able to evade the enormous spike of sediment that followed afterwards, if only by a hair.

'Uzumaki-san is walking such a fine line. If he screws up _once_, this fight may be over' Neji noted. Over the next five minutes, Gaara's bursts of offense became more and more sparse while Naruto's output only increased. One specific sequence repeated itself time and time again. The blonde would enter range, suggest a strike to draw a reaction from Gaara, and then throw a flurry of everything but the feinted strike.

'He's piling up so much attritional damage. He's rendering Gaara inert with nothing but sheer offensive volume and distance control. Brilliant' Neji observed in awe. Further enforcing the new narrative, Naruto laced Gaara with a four-strike combination consisting of a kick to the redhead's calf, two touching punches to either side of his face, and a fully-committed uppercut into his solar plexus.

"What vicious body punching" Neji muttered as Gaara struggled to hide his discomfort brought about by the strike to his midsection. Despite the massive success of his comrade, however, one aspect of the battle was nagging at his mind.

'Why has Gaara stopped using his sand? His chakra supply is still relatively full, and he hasn't been badly hurt' he pondered.

A moment later, he was given an answer.

* * *

Naruto took a deep breath and stepped forward to blitz, gaining speed and vanishing from sight in an instant. Upon returning to the visual plain, he launched the same straight, right-handed punch that he had landed a dozen times previously to disguise his movements and tag his foe. His streak of accuracy had met its end. Gaara, for the first time, moved his head to his left and allowed Naruto to drift forward six inches or so by his own momentum.

A fraction of a second later, Gaara jacked the blonde's jaw with a right-hand counter that froze him in his tracks. It was the strike that followed, however, that did the real damage. As Naruto stumbled back, Gaara caught the point of his chin with a left-handed punch that floored him. Naruto's back hit the desert ground forcefully, knocking the wind out of him and eliciting a painful cough from his lips.

When his vision cleared enough to make out the world around him again, he saw that Gaara was still standing in the same spot he had been.

"You know, I may not be the most polished of taijutsu practitioners, but if you show me the same thing quite literally _twelve_ times, I'll find a way to punish you for that predictability" he said raggedly. Naruto grunted and climbed to his feet, ignoring the wobble in his knees and the general feeling of fuzziness he was experiencing. Gaara himself seemed to be no better off, with a litany of small cuts and bruises on his face from the extended onslaught he had endured.

Beyond the aesthetic damage, he appeared to be quite winded, as much of Naruto's output had been focused on the redhead's midsection and legs. The boys stared at each other silently for nearly a full minute, finding something resembling solace in the damage their opponent had endured. The silence was eventually broken by Gaara.

"You know, I don't think I've ever simultaneously loved and hated something as much as I do you. I despise everything you stand for, but _nobody_ has ever pushed me to ask myself these kinds of questions before. Win, lose, or draw, you have my undying gratitude" he said. He then rushed forward at Naruto as his gourd dissipated into sand, prompting the blonde to follow suit.

The Jinchuuriki clashed together by the fronts of their foreheads. They then began to battle for control of their foe's wrists, a battle that was quickly one by Gaara. The sadistic demon container used his grip on Naruto's left wrist to ruin his posture and drive a hard knee into his ribs. The blonde grimaced at the impact, but rebounded and elbowed Gaara in the temple. The boys then separated from the tie-up and began to circle one another.

Naruto held up a hand and focused a mixture of his human and demonic chakra into a spiralling sphere. Once the jutsu was complete, he charged forward and attempted to slam it into Gaara's chest. Before it could connect, the sand that had once comprised the sand shinobi's gourd flew into action and intercepted the Rasengan.

"You aren't getting any more easy entries" Gaara growled, weaving hand seals as he spoke. A moment later, he unleashed his retaliatory jutsu.

"Wind Style: Great Breach!" he yelled. A blast of wind then flew forth from his mouth and knocked Naruto backwards. Realizing that his spiralling sphere was no longer a viable offensive option, the konoha Jinchuuriki turned to defense and used the Rasengan to deflect the wind away from himself. Once the onslaught of oxygen subsided, Naruto allowed the jutsu to fade away. Unfortunately, his body had reached its limit for tolerance of the fox's chakra, causing his red cloak and tails of energy to fade away.

Luckily, Great Breach appeared to have emptied the remainder of Gaara's reserves as well, as he dropped to one knee immediately after Great Breach had concluded. Through the blood and sweat, they could both see opportunity ripe for the taking. They also faced the same predicament. _Exhaustion_.

As it turned out, however, Gaara's issues ran far deeper than simple tiredness. This became evident roughly thirty seconds after he had been forced to take a knee. He began to writhe in pain, clutching his head and clenching his jaw as an unseen force tore into him.

"W-what are you…" Naruto began, looking on in a mixture of horror and relief as his adversary twitched and grunted from the pain he was experiencing. His list of questions only grew longer when Gaara screamed out in pain in a tone that repeatedly swapped between his normal voice and that of another creature. Struggling to process, Naruto turned to the only other being present.

'What the hell is happening to him?' he asked the fox. Without a moment's hesitation, the demon revealed the morbid answer to the equally morbid question.

'**That final expenditure of chakra broke the barrier he had built up to keep Shukaku at bay. He's been suppressing his tailed-beast for the entirety of this battle. I initially thought his conservative approach was linked to stamina issues, but no. He simply couldn't afford to exert himself too much' **he explained. Naruto felt his blood run cold as he watched Gaara fight for control of his own body. The redhead was then swarmed by his own sand, which formed a miniature storm of sediment around him as he struggled.

'Fight him. Come on, Gaara. Fight him' Naruto thought, surprising even himself. Despite his deep and irreversible hatred of his fellow Jinchuuriki, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy as Gaara was worn down by the demon within his body. Slowly but surely, sand formed a shell around Gaara. Once the structure was done building itself, there was a stretch of uncomfortable silence.

Just as Naruto began to open his mouth to speak, Gaara's voice came tearing through air in the form of a roar of defiance. The sand shell then shattered into an uncountable number of shimmering grains of sediment. Standing in the center of the remnants of the structure was the redhead, who no longer bore any markings on his body. His eyes were downcast initially, but once he raised his gaze from the ground, Naruto noticed that they had returned to their natural blue color.

'**Absolutely incredible. He overpowered his own tailed-beast with nothing but sheer willpower. Weak as you may be, human beings never cease to amaze me' **the fox commended breathlessly. Gaara then bared his teeth and rubbed the side of his head.

"I will _not_ be robbed of this. Not even by you" he hissed to the beast he harbored. He then locked eyes with Naruto and called up his remaining strength to raise up a cloud of sand to hover around him. The blonde took a deep breath and assumed a taijutsu stance.

'If you beat me, change your title…'

'...to Gaara the Unbreakable'

* * *

**A/N: I know, I know. I left y'all hanging. Don't worry. Next chapter comes out tomorrow, and we'll wrap up this fight and Hinata vs Temari. Tell me what you thought in a review :)**

**See you next chapter! Read and Review!**


	49. Battles Won and Battles to Come

**A/N: Well, this may be the second the last chapter of this fic, so let's make it good. Not long to go. If you hated my iteration of Gaara, this chapter is going to make you very happy.**

**Time for chapter 49**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Hinata tapped her foot impatiently as she sat atop the unconscious body of Kankuro. The puppeteer wasn't dead, but he was close. Many of his minor organs were damaged, and his face was badly bruised. Along with Kankuro, there were seven other bodies littering the lobby floor. Unlike the genin, however, those bodies were lifeless. They had all died of internal hemorrhaging brought about by the heiress.

'I tried explaining to them that I was simply to collect the hostage they were harboring as part of the arrangement, but no, they refused to listen' Hinata thought to herself as she admired her handywork. Much to her delight, there was very little blood on the ground, save for the small accumulations by the mouths of the fallen guards. It had been a fairly clean performance despite the chaotic nature of the scuffle. The thing that was nagging at her patience was the length of time it was taking for Temari to emerge from the upper level.

Hinata had considered simply walking up the stairwell at the back of the lobby, but was too wary of traps and hidden enemies to do so. It had been nearly two minutes since her brutal and swift drubbing of Kankuro, and there had been no signs of Temari. Just as the Hyuga girl was beginning to consider risking the stairwell, the sound of footsteps became audible. Hinata returned her attention to the stairs and narrowed her eyes. A moment later, Temari came walking down the stairs, her fan strapped to her back.

"Took you long enough. What exactly were you waiting for?" Hinata asked as the fan wielder looked over the situation carefully. After a few seconds of self-gathering, Temari responded to the question.

"I had arrangements to make. And, from the looks of it, you've been busy in the meantime" she said, the slightest trace of anger in her voice. Hinata shrugged and gestured to the bodies around her.

"All of this could have been prevented if you had just brought Nara-san to me immediately. Don't act as though this isn't partially your fault" she pointed out, standing up as she spoke. The sand kunoichi scowled and removed her fan from her back.

"Would you mind stepping away from my brother?" she asked rigidly. The heiress responded back kicking Kankuro off to the side of the room, earning a growl from Temari.

"What's gotten into you? You were a little irritating back in Konoha, but this is a new low. Even for you" she said. Hinata shifted into a taijutsu stance and activated her Byakugan.

"I'm in a foul mood. In no small part due to your kidnapping of my teammate" she said through clenched teeth. The sand kunoichi raised an eyebrow and unfurled her fan.

"Why does it bother you? From what I saw, the only person you gave a damn about is Naruto" she asked skeptically. The Hyuga girl bared her teeth and charged forward. Temari countered by swinging her fan and sending a blast of serrated wind in her direction to intercept her. Hinata defused the response by deftly launching herself straight upward toward the high ceiling of the lobby. The moment she made contact with the surface, she rebounded off of it and sent herself flying down towards Temari.

She landed two feet to Temari's left, giving her just enough distance to fully extend the right-handed punch she threw at her jaw. Hinata's fist crashed into the left side of the fan wielder's jawline, turning her face away and buckling her knees momentarily. Despite being stunned, Temari whipped around and swung her fan at nearly point-blank range. The motion sent Hinata tumbling backwards under the brunt of wind. She skittered across the floor and slammed into the back wall after a moment, drawing a painful cough.

It took her less than a few seconds to regain her bearings, and once she did, she went back on the attack. She threw a storm of kunai in her foe's direction to force her to defend rather than using her fan. Hinata followed up the projectile assault with another forward blitz. Unlike before, Temari wasn't able to intercept her in time. The reason being that Hinata had been inching forward the entire time she was throwing kunai, meaning that she had less distance to cover.

With her defenses open and compromised, Temari was struck on her right shoulder by a palm strike from Hinata, instantly dislocating and numbing the arm. The sand kunoichi was forced to drop her fan as a result, and the Hyuga girl immediately kicked the weapon away. A moment later, Temari's head was snapped back by a hard punch from Hinata, bloodying her nose and sending her back a step.

"Stand down, Temari-san. You were beaten by Nara-san in a taijutsu match, and I can assure you that I am _far_ superior to him in that regard" the heiress said as the fan wielder. Temari growled and swung a wide punch at her in response. Hinata effortlessly pulled her head back just enough to make the strike miss before countering with a sharp, short punch to the temple. The strike momentarily froze Temari up, granting Hinata the time to plant her left shin across her ribcage.

The kick doubled the sand kunoichi over, but she refused to fall to her knees. Instead, she awkwardly skittered backwards in a hunched stance. Hinata assessed the distance between herself and Temari for a moment before exploding forward with multiple strikes to all levels of her adversary's body. The combination, like the kick to the sand kunoichi's ribs, buckled her without sending her down. Hinata growled out of frustration.

"You'd be well-served to drop soon. I'll stop hitting you if you do" she said in annoyance. Temari gave her a defiant scowl.

"Not my fault you hit like a housefly" she snapped. Hinata briefly tensed at the insult, but quickly regathered herself. She then stepped forward, flashed her left hand in the fan wielder's face to disguise the shifting of her feet, and spun rapidly to clip her heel off of her opponent's temple.

The wheeling kick only grazed her, but it was still forceful enough to completely destroy Temari's equilibrium and send her crumbling to the floor. After waiting to see if she would rise again, Hinata stepped over her and began making her way towards the stairs. She was halfway there when a searing pain erupted in her back. Her hands curled into fists immediately, as she knew what the source was.

"You have some nerve" she hissed, plucking the kunai out of her back and turning around as she spoke. Temari was back on her feet, wobbly and battered.

"Why are you so determined to keep me from Nara-san? What do you stand to gain?" the heiress demanded. Much to her surprise, the sand kunoichi smiled at the question.

"Something I didn't know I needed, and something you already have" she said vaguely. Despite the lack of clarity, Hinata instantly understood.

"Please tell me you're joking" she said rigidly, her temper burning with heat. Temari shook her head and stepped into a weak taijutsu stance. The Hyuga girl stared at her blankly for a few moments before weaving a short sequence of hand seals and grasping her own wrist.

"You endangered the life of my beloved for the sake of remedying your own lonesomeness. I'll feed your body to a thousand ravenous birds" she said coldly. The arm she was grasping at the wrist then began to spark and crackle with blue electricity. A loud chirping sound emitted from the jutsu as it pulsed and flared.

"_Chidori" _she uttered calmly. Hinata then rushed forward and reached forward with her free hand, grabbing hold of Temari and pulling her forward into her jutsu. Chidori punctured the sand kunoichi's left shoulder completely, with the heiress' arm protruding from her back. Temari coughed up a sizable amount of blood and slumped to the ground.

"I missed your heart, and I don't have the chakra to perform that jutsu again, so you're going to survive, but never forget that I spared you on a _whim_" Hinata spat as she turned to resume her walk to the stairwell. Once she had fully rotated to face the stairs, however, she saw a familiar face.

"That was a little much, don't you think?" Shikamaru, who had emerged from the upper level, asked. Hinata eyed him carefully as he walked past her and over to the fallen Temari.

"She's inches away from dying, you know" he said after examining the barely conscious kunoichi, his voice masking an unknown emotion. The heiress nodded and frowned.

"Yes, that was my intention" she said bluntly. The shadow user sighed and removed his overshirt, which he then used to apply pressure to the gaping wound on Temari's shoulder. Once the bleeding had subsided, he tied the shirt around her shoulder to maintain the pressure.

"Why are you giving her first aid, Nara-san?" Hinata asked skeptically. Shikamaru stood up from the girl's side and returned to his teammate.

"Because she doesn't deserve to die, and...she saved my life once. I'm just doing my part" he explained. The pair then made their way out of the building, stepping over the bodies of guards along the way. They walked in silence for a good while before either of them spoke.

"Since when do you know how to use Kakashi-sensei's jutsu?" Shikamaru asked. Hinata glanced down at her right hand, which she had used to perform the technique.

"He's been working on it with me for the past few months. Only once per week, so I haven't mastered it yet. What you saw was a very sloppy attempt, actually" she said, drawing a nod of understanding from the Nara.

"While we're on the topic, how much of that did you see?" Hinata asked as a follow-up. The shadow user shrugged.

"About half of it" he said matter-of-factly. The Hyuga girl frowned at the revelation and shot him a questioning look.

"Then why didn't you simply reveal yourself? I would have stopped attacking her if you had" she asked. Shikamaru pursed his lips.

"I made a deal with her. If she could beat you, I'd stay in Suna for a bit longer, and if you won, I'd be free to leave" he said. Hinata raised an eyebrow.

"It sounds to me like she's quite fond of you" she said. Her teammate shook his head and scratched his cheek.

"There's a little more to it than that. Circumstances played a huge role" he said. Hinata chuckled and shook her head as well.

"They always do, Nara-san. They always do" she replied. They then lapsed into silence again. They were both well aware of the destination they were heading for. The closer they drew to the edge of the village, the more their anxiety grew.

"We should speed up" Shikamaru said as they crossed into the desert. Hinata nodded in agreement.

At this, they took off sprinting to witness the brutal war of attrition raging in the plains of sand.

* * *

A mixture of blood and saliva flew from Gaara's mouth as he was struck cleanly across the left side of his jaw for the fourth time in thirty seconds. The pain in his mouth was searing, and his knees were growing weaker by the second as he was beaten pillar to post. The moment the battle had become a contest of technical skill in taijutsu, it had become a landslide in Naruto's favor. He outmaneuvered, outstruck, and outclassed the redhead at every turn.

Every time Gaara through a punch or kick, he would be met with a series of hard counters. Despite his exhaustion, Naruto was still managing to fire off a reasonable clip of offense at a consistent pace, and it was wearing his foe down quickly. Beyond the disparity in volume, Naruto was much more defensively sound. He, unlike Gaara, was able to press forward without fear of being nailed stepping into range. He would slip, roll, and pull away from the return fire every single time.

Naruto, in spite of the relative ease with which he was controlling the engagements and broader context of the fight, found himself wearing down himself. The sheer durability of the sand shinobi was daunting, and the blonde's hands were beginning to feel brittle from striking him so regularly.

'Is he made of metal or something?' he grumbled to himself mentally as he countered a lead from Gaara with a spearing knee to his ribs. Unlike the previous brutally clean strikes Naruto had landed, the knee caused the redhead to step backwards and reset. Now understanding what he must do, the konoha genin resolved himself to pressure forward. When Gaara stood his ground, Naruto dug the ball of his foot into his gut with a linear kick. The sadistic Jinchuuriki winced and stepped back again.

'**Keep targeting his body. He has no answer for strikes below his chest' **the fox urged. Naruto took a deep breath and nodded. He then burst forward as best he could and dug his right hand into Gaara's stomach, doubling him over and knocking the wind out of him. As he learched forward, the blonde seized the back of his head and slammed his knee into his forehead. The impact stood Gaara up straight, making him a prime target.

Naruto quickly capitalized on the opportunity with a hard punch that landed between the redhead's eyes and send him staggering backwards. Ignoring the lactic acid burning in his body, Naruto stormed after him. Once he was back within the proper distance, he definitively knocked his foe to the ground for the first time with a wide left-handed punch to the jaw.

'**End it'** the fox said. Naruto nodded and drew a kunai. He then threw himself down towards his fallen foe. As he crashed downwards, however, Gaara unvelied his final trump card. His left hand, which he had buried in the sand upon hitting the ground, shot up from the earth. It was encased in sand that was shaped into a twisted spike. The sedimentary blade sunk into Naruto's stomach as he literally fell onto it in an attempt to kill Gaara himself.

The blonde hacked blood onto Gaara's face as he struggled to breath properly. The redhead then forced his way back to his feet, his hand still embedded in Naruto's abdomen as he stood up. A scream of horror then erupted from the north, prompting Gaara to glance back over his shoulder.

"It seems we have an audience. How rude of them to eavesdrop" he said while twisting the spike further into Naruto's body. The blonde grimace and struggled to remove the spike to no avail. As he floundered, Gaara chuckled.

"Should you find a way to survive this, you have me beaten. I've emptied the last of my chakra into the sand currently tearing away at your intestines" he said as red sweat trickled down his face. Naruto returned the short laugh and reached out to grasp Gaara's neck.

"I think this one might end up a draw, Gaara" he said apologetically. Before the redhead could respond, Naruto's nails lengthened into claws and peirced his throat. Blood spilled from Gaara's mouth as his opponent severed his jugular vein and removed his hand from the redhead's neck.

"Checkmate" Naruto said raggedly. Gaara sighed and removed his sand spike from the blonde's body. He then stepped backwards and locked eyes with his greatest opponent.

"Why did you take it out? Why didn't you…" Naruto asked with wide eyes. Gaara's facial expression then relaxed, a look of peace overtaking his features.

"You're going to bring this world to its knees...N-Naruto" he said, his voice strangled and choppy due to the accumulation of blood in his windpipe. Then, he fell backwards and disappeared from sight. As it turned out, Naruto's forward pressure had brought the boys near to the edge of the massive sinkhole without the blonde noticing. Gaara had been claimed by gravity. Naruto stared down into the chasm for a length of time lost to him before gazing up at the sun.

In an instant, his world went black.

* * *

Shikamaru looked to Neji and nodded. The boys then took off running after Hinata, who was already halfway to Naruto's unmoving body. The sprint lasted nearly a quarter-mile, but the adrenaline coursing through their veins prevented fatigue from slowing them down. Once they had closed the distance between themselves and Naruto, they knelt down beside his body, which was already being tended to by Hinata. Her hands were glowing green over the horrific stab wound on his stomach, and slowly but surely, the injury was mending.

"He's unbelievably lucky. If Gaara had aimed even an inch higher, he would have completely destroyed his diaphragm. His intenstinal tract has been ruptured, but it won't be fatal as long as I can mend it" the heiress reported while she worked away. Neji mouthed the word 'wow' as he observed the medical proficiency of his cousin.

"Since when are you a skilled medical ninja, Hinata-sama?" he asked curiously. The Hyuga girl shrugged and checked Naruto's pulse for the sake of caution.

"I already knew a limited degree of it, but when plans were set to come to Suna I decided to sharpen up. Mother was an excellent medic during her lifetime, so I requested to study her notes. Father happily obliged" she explained. A moment later, Naruto's breathing stabalized. Hinata sighed in relief and cradeled his head.

"He's going to be okay" she whispered, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Shikamaru laid a hand on his unconscious teammate's forehead and winced.

"He's still burning up. Probably from exhaustion. I'm willing to be that he won't wake up for a little while" he said. The Hyuga girl nodded and gestured to Neji for help lifting the blonde.

"Yes, he'll likely need to be carried for most of, if not all, of the trip back home" she said honeslty. The Hyuga children then gingerly raised Naruto from the ground and began the slow trek back to Suna to find Kurenai.

Unlike his comrades, Shikamaru did not leave the sight of the battle immediately. Instead, he made his way to the edge of the sinkhole and looked into the darkness below just as Naruto had.

'I may have hated you while you were alive, but I always understood you. To some extent, at least' he thought to himself. Shikamaru shivered as a breeze blew by.

'You walked into the wind your whole life, you were constantly kicked while you were down, and you never got what you wanted. All you were really looking for was somebody to put you out of your misery' the shadow user lamented. He then untied his forehead protector from around his bicep and tossed it into the abyss, a tribute to the dead. After a few seconds, he turned around to follow his fellow genin.

'If there's any peace to be had in hell, I pray that you find it, Gaara'

* * *

Naruto's eyes slowly opened as sunlight streamed through the window of his hospital room. His body was sore, particularly in his stomach area, and his breathing was a bit labored, but he was very much alive. After carefully propping himself up and looking around the room, he spotted a very welcome face sitting in the corner.

"Good, you're awake. Welcome home, my boy" Hiruzen said with a smile. The blonde let out a sigh of relief at the confirmation that he was back in Konohagakure. Noticing his lessened stress, the Hokage scooted his chair forward and put a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Based on what I've been told, and your reaction just now, you had quite a difficult time in Suna" he said. Naruto nodded and cracked his stiff neck to better his comfort.

"Difficult is an understatement. Gaara took me to hell and back. I knew it would be hard, but I never could have prepared for the war I had to win" he admitted. Hiruzen removed his hand from his shoulder and stroked his chin.

"It fascinates me that the Jinchuuriki of the One-Tails could trouble you so much. The fox is and always has been much more powerful than Shukaku. According to Shikamaru, the two of you fought to what essentially amounted to a draw" he said thoughtfully. The blonde rubbed his eyes and reached for the glass of water that was sitting on his bedside table.

"Gaara was a lot stronger than me man to man. Without our inner demons, he would have mopped the floor with me. No doubt about it" he said honestly. The old man raised arched his brow.

"What gives you that idea? From what I saw, that boy never fought without the assitance of his demon" he asked skeptically. Naruto thought back to the final exchange between himself and the redhead, in which he was impaled.

"That sand he used isn't linked to Shukaku. It doesn't even require chakra. It defends him on his own. Even when we were dead tired, it was blocking my punches. By that point, Gaara had already suppressed his demon too, so he wasn't using its chakra" he said. Hiruzen's eyes widened.

"He _suppressed _Shukaku?" he asked, dumbfounded by the revelation. The Jinchuuriki smiled and nodded his head.

"Yeah, he did. With nothing but his own will and chakra. He may have been my enemy, but I couldn't help but root for him while he fought for control of his own body" he said in a reminiscing tone. The Hokage shook his head and stood up from his chair to gaze out the window.

"That is an absolutely monumental feat for a lone human to achieve. But, more importantly, his death marks the end of Shukaku for the foreseeable future. There are now eight tailed-beasts rather than nine" he said. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows.

"Does that affect anything?" he asked. The Hokage sighed and straightened his robes a bit as he searched for a suitable explanation.

"There are men in this world that seek to control the power of the Tailed-Beasts. Be it through extraction from their Jinchuuriki or by manipulating the hosts themselves. With one gone for the next century or so, their primary goal is thwarted. I still fear that they may find other ways to achieve their ends, though" he said. He then turned to face Naruto and gave him a serious look.

"You'd do good to take note of that. When you take the reigns of Konohagakure, you'll inevitably come across these ninja. They're more dangerous than any other threat currently being faced by our world. Both in the short and long term" he said sternly. The Jinchuuriki sighed.

"You shouldn't put much stock into the idea that I'm ever going to lead the village. My public image isn't exactly good or fixable" he said glumly. Hiruzen smiled and shook his head once again.

"That's where you're wrong, Naruto. I suppose I should tell you; It's been three days since your arrival back in the leaf. In that time, the Nara, Hyuga, and Akimichi clans have all held public speeches honoring you and your valiant effort in Sunagakure. Your popularity is on the upswing. Hiashi in particular did an excellent job of likening you to the civilians" he corrected proudly. The blonde perked up at the news.

"Really? T-thats awesome. I mean, the Hyuga and Nara clans make sense, but why the Akimichis?" he asked. The Hokage shrugged.

"The heir, Choji, is closely aquianted with Shikamaru, so you bringing him back home brought the family great joy" he said simply. Naruto laid down in the bed and took a deep breath as he processed the information. After a lapse of silence, Hiruzen reached into the pocket of his robes and produced a notebook.

"Since you're going to be stuck in mildly intensive care for the next few days, I figured I'd give you a headstart on Kagehood" he said, handing the bound paper to Naruto. The Jinchuuriki eyed it skeptically, earning a chuckle from the Hokage.

"I know you aren't much of a reader, but I think you should give that a try. Now, I must be off. Hinata will be in to visit within the hour, so be prepared" the old man said. He then exited the room and left Naruto alone. Once he was gone, Naruto studied the notebook in his hands, flipping it over a few times to test its weight and density. As he did so, he came across an indentation. Upon further examination, it was a name etched into the back cover.

"...Minato Namikaze"

* * *

**A/N: This was the final chapter of the main story, and I hope you all enjoyed reading this fanfic. If you feel like sticking around, there's going to be one more chapter. It'll be set quite a few years after this scene. An epilogue, if you will.**

**If you've never reviewed before, feel free to tell me what you thought of this story as a whole, and if you're a regular, give me your assessment.**

**See you all in the Epilogue :)**


	50. Epilogue

**A/N: Well, folks, it's been a long road here, but this will be the final chapter of House of Glass. Though, it may not be the final time I write a fanfic set in this timeline.**

**Time for the Epilogue**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

A bead of sweat trickled down Naruto's face as he awaited the action of his opponent. He was deep into a layered, strenuous war of attrition. His stress was visible on his face as his foe smirked and made his move. The outcome caused Naruto's eyes to widen.

"Checkmate" Shikamaru said smugly, gesturing to the chessboard in exaggerated fashion to emphasize his victory. The blonde groaned and leaned back in his chair.

"How can you be so good at this? That's the _eighth _time you've beaten me, and we haven't even eaten dinner yet" he grumbled dejectedly. Hinata, who sat to his left, giggled and gave his shoulder a patronizing squeeze.

"Keep on trying, Naruto-kun. Maybe you'll win this year" she joked. The Jinchuuriki sighed heavily and hung his head glumly.

"Even my own wife doesn't believe in me" he muttered. The Hyuga woman smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"I trust you to win fist fights, complete paperwork, and maintain public peace. I do _not_, however, trust you to outwit a Nara" she said. Shikamaru chuckled and began to put away the chess pieces.

"That must be a tough pill to swallow, Naruto. You, the Hokage, are unable to beat the Kazekage's assistant in a simple game of chess" he laughed. Before Naruto could retort, another person emerged from the kitchen.

"And the _Kazekage_ orders both of you to quit bullying Naruto. He's already had his dignity taken from him" Temari said as she set plates out around the table, one for each of them. After distributing the food-bearing dinnerware, she sat down next to Shikamaru. Hinata silently counted the number of plates on the table, frowning upon completing the process.

"Is Shikadai not eating with us? There are only four plates" she asked curiously. Shikamaru shook his head and took a bite of the steak on his plate.

"Nope. He's staying with his aunt and uncle for the night" he explained, looking quite satisfied as he chewed his food. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Why's that? Does he not like steak or something?" he asked. Temari shook her head as well, glancing at Hinata as she did so.

"No, he likes steak just fine. He's not here because he's afraid of _you_, Hinata" she revealed. The Hyuga woman did a double take at the information being presented to her.

"What reason does he have to be afraid of me? I've only met him twice, and I wasn't antagonizing" she inquired. Shikamaru snickered and took a sip of his drink.

"It's because you told him to, and I quote, 'quit eating like a disease ridden hound'. Seems like a decent reason to me" he said. Hinata huffed and sampled her food as well.

"That was two years ago, and his table manners were atrocious. Elbows on the table, chewing with his mouth open, the works" she said. Temari sighed, a light smile on her face despite the indignation of her guest.

"Yeah, and he was also six years old. He's gotten a _little _better with his etiquette since then, but I think you terrified him out of learning. But oh well, water under the bridge at this point" she said. Naruto, opting to save his stubborn wife from digging her own metaphorical grave any deeper, decided to change the subject.

"You mentioned that he was staying with his _aunt_ and uncle. Does that mean Kankuro finally found himself a wife?" he asked. Temari nodded and poked at the greens at the edge of her plate.

"Yup, a girl from Kumo. Her name is Izumi. A bit of an oddball, but very nice when you get right down to it" she explained. Hinata raised an eyebrow at one specific aspect of the Kazekage's description of Kankuro's wife.

"From Kumogakure? Even after all that's happened?" she asked skeptically. The fan wielder sipped her water and swatted away her husband's hand, which was straying towards her plate to snag a piece of meat.

"Given that all of that happened ten years ago now, I don't really mind her nationality. It's not like I didn't do _anything_ to ensure the marriage wouldn't be an issue. I requested that she move to Suna, and she did it without resistance. The way I see it, this could be the start of the slow rebuilding process for the relationship between the Sand and Cloud" she said optimistically. Hinata smiled at the sentiment.

"That's a fine way to think of it. Perhaps I should convince Boruto to follow in Kankuro's footsteps when he's of marrying age" she said humorously. Naruto laughed out loud at his wife's remark.

"I think you should pull back on that plan. I visited his academy class about a month ago, and there's a girl who gives him glances _constantly_. Sumire, I think it was" he said. The Hyuga woman's grin widened at Naruto's words.

"Well, in that case, I'll wait and see" she conceded jokingly. At the mention of the Uzumaki family's children, Shikamaru perked up.

"Speaking of your kids, how old are they now?" he asked curiously. Naruto finished the last of his meat and wiped the corners of his mouth.

"Boruto's eight, same as Shikadai, and Himawari is three. We would have brought them with us, but Boruto has an exam to study for, and he would have gotten prickly if we had only brought Himawari" he said.

"They're being watched by my father right now" Hinata added. Shikamaru whistled and shook his head.

"Well, at least you know Boruto _will_ be studying while you're out here" he said. The First Lady of Konoha smiled and sighed.

"Ever since he stepped down as head of the Hyuga, he's been making an effort to be a grandfather. He's still stern as the grave, but he's a good role model for them alongside Naruto-kun" she said. Temari collected the cleaned plates of the group and stacked them.

"When did he step down? I know you lead the Hyuga now, but how long has that been the case?" she asked. Hinata leaned back in her chair and stretched.

"He passed the torch to me just after Himawari was born three years ago. I was originally to succeed him on my eighteenth birthday, but I was able to push it back until I was twenty-five. Not that I didn't want the position, I did, but Naruto-kun needed assistance with his political campaign" she explained. Shikamaru studied the pair across from him.

"I kind of forgot that you've been Hokage for seven years now, Naruto. You're only twenty-eight, too. That's gotta be a record for the youngest Kage in Konoha's history" he said. The blonde grinned.

"Yup, it is. I beat my old man out by one year. He was twenty-two" he said proudly. The whole group smiled at his enthusiasm. Hinata and Temari then disappeared into the kitchen with the used plates.

When they returned, they brought cake.

* * *

Naruto and Shikamaru both sighed with satisfaction as they sat on a bench outside the Kazekage Estate. They had finished eating cake roughly five minutes previously, and they had no room left in them for more sustenance. As they sat, Shikamaru stared up at the now-present moon.

"You know, the more I look at it, the more I realize how perfectly things worked out for me. Things happened in such a specific order. If any of it had changed, I wouldn't be here right now" he pondered, almost more to himself than Naruto. The Hokage nodded in agreement.

"I think that's the case for most of our situations, but yours definitely more than others" he said. The shadow user stroked his goatee absently.

"I still feel a little bad about leaving the Nara clan without an heir, but that issue has been solved. A cousin of mine took that honor. But man, all of the things that lead me here were so...unusual. I was kidnapped by my now-wife, held hostage in what's now my home, and then _your_ wife almost killed Temari. Then, I came back a few months after all of that. The rest is history" he said. Naruto smiled at his former teammate.

"The Uzumaki's are winning the family rivalry right now, I guess. Hinata whipped Temari _badly_. Then again, you school me in chess every time we play, so maybe we're even" he said jovially. Shikamaru chuckled.

"When our kids are old enough, maybe the Chunin Exams will be where this 'rivalry' is finally settled" he joked. They both laughed at the notion. The Hokage glanced back at the Kazekage Estate, where Hinata and Temari still resided.

"We married broadly similar women, if you think about it. Stubborn, opinionated, strong, but lovable in their own ways" he commented. The shadow user shook his head.

"On the surface, maybe, but Temari is a hell of a lot rougher around the edges. That's what I love about her though. She brings me some much needed chaos. As for Hinata, her rigidness is born more from herself than her environment. Temari is who she is by virtue of the hell she lived in. The same can't be said for Hinata" he corrected. Naruto considered the assessment for a moment.

"That's true, but I'd argue that the environment did have a lot to do with how Hinata turned out initially. She was pampered early, and she was talented. Her..._other_ issues are definitely something that she's always had, but they've become much, much less problematic with time. She's a wonderful wife and mother" he said. Shikamaru took a coin out of his pocket and flipped it a few times.

"I don't doubt it. She's definitely more likeable than she used to be. By a _huge_ margin" he said. The blonde laughed again.

"For sure. I mean, I wouldn't have married her if she hadn't improved a ton over time" he said. The pair then lapsed into silence, the discussion of the past bringing back a variety of mixed memories for both. After nearly five full minutes of thoughtful quietness, Naruto spoke again.

"It really is surreal that I fought Gaara _fifteen _years ago. It's still so fresh in my mind. I can still smell the blood, hear his voice, feel my heart pounding in my ears, all of it. So much has happened since that day, but the memory is still so vivid" he said in a tone of conflicted emotion. The Kazekage's assistant sighed.

"It's the same for me, but for different things. I didn't fight Gaara, but I remember how I felt staring down into that abyss after you'd beaten him. Relief, exhaustion, even...a little bit of grief. That mix of emotions will never leave me completely. I think that was the moment that I became an adult, honestly. I realized the world wasn't black and white. There are grey areas, especially pertaining to people" he said tiredly. The Hokage raised an eyebrow.

"What was grey about Gaara? He's a pretty straightforward one to judge" he asked skeptically. Shikamaru leaned back on the bench and shifted his feet a bit.

"He was definitely on the darker side of grey, but he wasn't senselessly evil. He had his childish innocence thrashed out of him at a young age, and he was put through the wringer. Life was never happy for him. Not for a single moment. He came out a psychopath on the other end, but he still held onto a shred of who he could have been" he explained solemnly. Naruto chewed his lip.

"You seem to know quite a bit about him. It makes sense, I suppose. You were locked in a house with him for over three weeks" he commented. The shadow user nodded.

"I know more than I'd like to, but, one piece of information regarding him is actually very interesting. It surprised the hell out of me when I found out" he replied. The Hokage furrowed his eyebrows.

"That information being?" he pressed, his interest piqued. Shikamaru turned to look at his old friend for the first time since their exit from the Kazekage Estate.

"As it turns out, there was more to him using me as bait to lure you out here than just his desire to fight and kill you" he said. Naruto's eyes widened at the revelation. He quickly motioned for the Nara to continue.

"I found an old journal of his awhile back, and I decided to flip through it. What I found out was that, for a long while before he met you, he was aware of the Akatsuki's existence. Through his father, if I had to guess. He was keyed in on what they wanted to accomplish and how. He didn't approve of them. He considered their plans 'too destructive' if you can believe that" Shikamaru elaborated. When his friend still appeared confused, the shadow user sighed once more.

"He only took interest in you because you were a Jinchuuriki, but not for the reason you think. He probably did feel some level of excitement for fighting you, but what he was really trying to do was make sure one or both of you died. Since you're both Jinchuuriki, your deaths would mark the elimination of either Shukaku or the fox. He thwarted the Akatsuki, and he'll never get credit for it" he concluded. The Hokage took a stretch of time to process what was being revealed to him, eventually regaining his composure after much inner debate.

"The Akatsuki still showed up, but they were a hell of a lot less deliberate in their goals than I thought they would be, and we got rid of them because of it. I guess that explains why. In a way, Gaara saved the world. What a thought that is" he mused. Shikamaru smirked.

"I think that honor belongs to you, buddy. You were the one who killed him. He came within inches of taking you with him, but you still won" he said, slapping his former teammate on the back. Naruto smiled and stood up from the bench.

"I never like to think that way unless it's concrete. My kids are still my greatest accomplishment. Well, that and marrying the Head of the Hyuga clan. Gaara can have that recognition. He came up with the plan, and he brought everything together. I still hate his guts, but I'll give him credit where credit's due" he said. The shadow user followed suit and stood.

The pair of shinobi then made their way inside to rejoin their wives.

* * *

Hinata smiled as her husband lumbered into their guest bedroom. He was clearly tired, but also appeared to be in quite good spirits. After removing his sandals and coat, he crawled into bed next to her and sighed contentedly.

"Man, even their guest rooms are high quality. For a relatively average village economically, they don't spare any expenses when it comes to luxury" he said as he made himself comfortable. The head of the Hyuga clan nodded in agreement and latched onto one of his arms, using it as an anchor to pull herself closer to him with.

"Yes, this room is very nice. I still prefer our bedroom, but I'm more than a little biased" she said. Naruto yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"So do I. No place like home, as they say. Even so, I wish we could visit them more than once per year. It feels like _I_ could afford to, because I can just leave a horde of clones to do my work while I'm away, but Temari definitely can't take much time off. It was great to talk to Shikamaru again, though. Still undriven, but definitely the smartest guy I know" he said. Hinata smiled and thought back to her extended conversation with Temari.

"Temari-san and I have our differences, but I like her just fine. A very candid, down to earth woman. Quite a disciplinarian as a mother as well" she said. The blonde rubbed his stomach.

"Yeah, and a good cook. I'm surprised by that part, honestly. Shikamaru used to say that she was awful in the kitchen" he said. Hinata pursed her lips and scratched the back of her head.

"I _may_ have helped her a little" she admitted. The Jinchuuriki smiled at his wife and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"That explains why the cake tasted familiar. Also, I'm glad you're growing your hair out. It looks nice on you" he said. Hinata, much like she used to as a child and teenager, turned a light shade of pink.

"Well, I figured that since I changed the standard regarding female hair length in the Hyuga clan, I should reflect the change" she said. Her hair now reached the middle of her back, much unlike her short haircut from her days as a genin.

"Like I told you all those years ago, you're really pretty in a regal way. Even more so now that you don't have a boy's haircut" Naruto joked. His wife groaned and buried her face in a pillow.

"_Why_ must you tease me like that?" she asked, clearly embarrassed by the comment. The Hokage laughed and hugged her back into himself.

"Just some payback for your comments at dinner" he said. Hinata sighed and tucked her head underneath his chin.

"You're hopeless" she muttered. The blonde ran a hand through her hair and closed his eyes to begin his submission to unconsciousness.

"And you still married me" he countered. Hinata responded by creating a bit of space between them, only to collapse it once again with a kiss on the lips. After a few moments, she removed her mouth from his and traced the whiskers on his cheeks.

"Yes, and I don't regret it. Loving you was the smartest decision I ever made"

* * *

**A/N: And so ends my little tale. I decided to clear some things up about Gaara's motives in this chapter, so for those of you wondering, there you go.**

**I decided to end the story where it began, with Naruto and Hinata. I love this pairing to death, and I wanted to give it my own spin to spice things up. This story isn't perfect, and I did a lot of things that many of you disliked, but I hope my mistakes didn't ruin it for you. **

**As for what's next, I have another project to finish up. Once that's done, this fic WILL be getting a continuation of sorts. Not a full sequel, just a single-conflict story about one of the things alluded to in this epilogue. **

**Now please, If you read this Epilogue, I IMPLORE you to leave a review. Just tell me what you thought, and how you feel about this story.**

**Farewell, my readers. Thank you for the support. I'll see you in…**

**...House of Glass: Interlude**


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